The Lost Ones
by Maki Hatayama
Summary: My name is Mori. I am from planet Oniboshi. Stranded on Earth, with little knowledge of how to survive there, I thought I was lost... and then the 'Eternal Lost Boy' found me... Canceled.
1. Vacation Gone Wrong

**Okay, so, this is a Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura cross-over story. I mean no copyright infringement. And I certainly don't mean any couple or character bashing, for I love these animes, and their characters. Enjoy!**

My name is Mori. I am an alien, as you might call me.

I would prefer 'other-worlder' myself, but, either way.

My hair is black. My skin is lightly tanned. My eyes are a light blue color, and I tend to wear black shorts, a cobalt, black-striped, single-strap tank top that doesn't cover my belly, and casual, black slip-on shoes. I'm fourteen years old and a bit shorter than most girls my age.

My family is rather powerful. My father is a great soldier on my planet. My mother is his personal training partner.

I have two older sisters, and four older brothers. I'm the youngest of the bunch.

Right, I said my family was powerful. It's because lots of other people are becoming rather slow, and over-weight from simply flying around. We are a very fit, very strong, and, sometimes, very snooty family.

My mother and sisters try to maintain their youthful beauty, saying that if they look beautiful, and well cared-for, it makes our father look responsible.

They have tried to get me to follow suit.

I didn't care much for my looks. I wore clothes that matched, and tried to keep my hair smooth so that I could manage it, and that was about it.

I very much prefer my brothers' profession. They are soldiers, hunters, and guards at the royal palace.

I like to move around, a lot. I like being strong. I like my brothers best because they understood that I could play rough.

My father was quite reluctant to let me train with them, fearing that I would not be able to marry because of it. But, he also wanted me to, in case I didn't get married, so that I could take care of myself.

My situation is very complicated.

About six Earth months ago, my family was offered a chance at a higher status.

In exchange, though, we would have to become one with another family, through marital bonds.

Although we were rather well-off, father accepted the terms, and had my sisters and I get dressed up to meet the other family's only son.

I was far from willing to marry. Not for family status. I wanted to marry for love.

So, as I walked into the room in my best dress, my face all done up, and my hair pulled tightly up into a bun, I was angry, and hoping that my scowl was ugly enough to make him look away from me.

Then I saw him.

His name was Mon. He was only a little bit older than me, and he was beautiful.

His hair was a light green color that accented his emerald green eyes perfectly.

His build was excellent. He had obviously been to the training grounds a few times.

My scowl melted away, along with my heart.

To my shock, he ended up picking me to be his bride.

I was so happy, I ended up skipping several combat training courses just to sit and put on makeup, and do my hair up.

I had never been so girly in my life. Not until I met Mon.

We had only seven earth days left until the wedding.

I had been headed over to see Mon, to ask him for help picking my wedding dress.

When I got there, though, I caught him with another woman.

To say the least, I was angry. I wasn't sure what else to be. I'd never liked a guy that much, and to have him stolen from me...

The wedding was postponed, due to some dispute between the families.

When things began to settle down again, Mon came to me, apologizing profusely, begging me to take him back.

I was mad. And I was about to send him away.

Then, he asked me to go with him somewhere. I was hooked just as soon as I heard where.

He was going to take me to Earth.

I had always wanted to go there. I had learned all the languages, and read about some of the places that the Humans of Earth liked to go to.

It seemed like such a beautiful place, I couldn't wait to go there to myself.

Mon didn't like Earth at all, though. He thought it was a primitive and treacherous place.

He must love me a lot, to take me to a place he hated so much, right? That's what I thought, anyway.

"Mon, please hurry!" I said. "I want to explore the forests! Climb the mountains! Swim in the ocean! I want to talk to the Humans, and learn about them! Please, hurry!"

"As you wish, Mo-chan." Mon said.

I saw the big blue planet ahead, and I couldn't help flying around the ship in excitement.

Soon, we reached the planet. Mon landed the ship right in the middle of an Earth forest.

I flew out the door as soon as it was open, and began looking around.

The trees were such a beautiful color.

"Oh, my." I said, as I reached out, and touched one.

The roughness of the bark sent floods of adrenaline running through my system.

"Wow! Mon, come see this!" I said.

He came out, carrying our Earth camping supplies.

We set up our campsite, and then I began exploring.

Mon followed me around, smiling. He was enjoying the trip! I couldn't believe it!

That night, we settled down onto our bed mats, staring at each other.

"I had so much fun today!" I said. "Thank you so much, Mon!"

He smiled at me. "Anytime, Mo-chan." Mon said.

"Where are we going tomorrow?" I asked.

Mon cast his eyes around. "It's a surprise." He said. "I'll show you tomorrow!"

I moved over next to him, and snuggled into his chest.

"Mon... My husband-to-be... I love you..." I said.

He never returned those words. If he did, I fell asleep before he said anything.

That morning, I woke up to find that I was alone.

The camping supplies were gone, as was the ship.

Mon was nowhere to be found.

"Mon?" I called, getting to my feet. "Mon? Mon!"

No answer.

My heart began to race with fear and fury as I began to realize that he'd left me here.

"Mon... You didn't..." I said. "Someone! Anyone! Help me!"

No answer. My family would come looking for me, eventually. All I had to do was wait.

So, I began pacing around that forest clearing, staring at the sky, waiting for some sign that someone was coming.

After a while, I was beginning to get hungry. I was losing hope, too.

"...Mon loves me and he'll come back. Mon is only joking. Mon loves me and he'll come back." I had begun chanting to myself.

I was running short on faith. No one was here yet.

The sun began to set, and the forest was beginning to look very intimidating.

Tears came to my eyes.

"Papa... Mama... Ane-tachi... Ani-tachi..." I said. "No. Mon is only joking! Mon loves me and he'll come..."

I broke out into sobs, and stopped pacing. No one even knew I was missing, did they?

Oh, the sorrow. No one knew I was gone, and if they did, they didn't care.

I was alone. No one to talk to. No idea how to get by in this world.

All of a sudden, I heard rustling behind me.

I spun around in shock.

A man walked through the bushes, with something strapped to his back.

His headband was the first thing I saw. It was yellow with black stripes. The royal colors of my planet.

Only worn by the princess' guards and the royalty themselves.

I smiled brightly, hope returning to me.

"Thank goodness!" I said. "I was beginning to think I'd been stranded here forever!"

The man looked me over.

"Are you lost?" He asked.

"I suppose. My fiancée brought me here. I woke up this morning, and found that he'd up and left without me." I said. "Thank goodness you're here! I don't suppose you could take me home?"

The man looked around. "That depends." He said. "How far away do you live?"

I gave him a funny look. "The galaxy closest to this one." I said. "Aren't you from my planet? You wear the royal colors."

"Planet? Are you alright? Did you hit your head?" The man asked.

The dismay began to come back to me. That was a Human reaction to people who spoke of aliens, and other creatures that weren't born on their planet.

"You're Human?" I asked.

He nodded slowly.

I frowned, and lowered my head.

"H-hey! Don't cry! I'll hear you out, just calm down!" The man said.

My stomach let out a grumbling noise.

I wrapped my arms around myself in embarrassment.

"I suppose I can share some food, too." The man said, pulling the load off his back.

He and I sat down as he began to pull things out of the odd container he'd had on his back.

The man started putting together pieces of dead trees while I told him my story.

After a little while, the man began scraping two stones together over the dead tree pieces.

This action was shown in many files on the computers back home. None of them told me what was to come of such an action.

"Ano... nanishiterun desu ka?" I asked.

He continued to scrape the rocks together.

"Trying to start a fire." The man said.

"Oh." I said. "May I?"

He looked up at me. "I guess you can give it a shot." The man said, handing me the rocks.

I politely pushed them away, and pointed at the tree pieces.

I used my powers of electric shock to light a fire in the tree pieces, and smiled at the man.

He was staring at me in what appeared to be shock.

"My name is Mori. I'm a guard at the royal armory on my planet." I said. "I hope I've proven to you that I'm not of your planet."

He blinked a couple of times. "Ah... Nice to meet you?" He said. "Eto... I'm Ryoga Hibiki. I'm a traveling martial artist here. Yeah, I think you've made your point."

Two names? Such a mouth full, too. I wonder if their nicknames are long, as well.

Ryoga Hibiki showed me how to make an Earth food, called 'ramen' that day.

It was rather delicious, too, despite its resemblance to a nasty worm from my planet.

Once we were done eating, Ryoga Hibiki offered to take me to a safe place.

I was reluctant to leave. I was pretty sure that, no matter where you went, the number one rule for when you get lost was to stay put, and let someone look for you.

Ryoga Hibiki gave that a brief thought. He then told me that I could do as I pleased, and proceeded on into the night.

As much as I wanted to stay put for my family to find me... I really didn't want to be alone.

I ran after him, and followed him to many places, as he searched for a place called Nerima, Tokyo...

_Ane-tachi - Older sisters._

_Ani-tachi - Older brothers._

_Ano nanishiterun desu ka - Excuse me, what are you doing?_

_Eto - Umm._

_Okay, that drug on a bit. I didn't quite cover as much as I wanted to, either, but, I thought this was pretty good. Please, review._


	2. Trusting Strangers

**Having trouble figuring out what to do with this one. I think I've got it, now, though. Enjoy!**

"Hold this one here, between your thumb and palm, and this one between your thumb and pointer finger." Ryoga Hibiki said.

He helped me place the oddly carved tree pieces in my hand just right.

"Ah! That's how it's done!" I said. "Arigato, Ryoga Hibiki-san!"

"Don't mention it." Ryoga Hibiki said.

I gave him a funny look.

"Why not?" I asked.

Ryoga Hibiki sighed. "Never mind!" He said. "You'd better eat. It's gonna take a while to get to Nerima."

With ease, this time, I picked up an Earth vegetable with my chopsticks, and ate it.

"Why must we go to Nerima?" I asked.

Ryoga Hibiki peeked over his rice bowl at me.

"You don't have to tag along." He said.

Oh, no! I'm being rude!

"I-I hope we get there soon!" I said. "I want to experience as much human culture as possible!"

Ryoga Hibiki scooped some more rice into his mouth.

"Someone's waiting for me to get back to them." Ryoga Hibiki said. "They're waiting in Nerima."

"Oh." I said. "Do you suppose they're worried?"

Ryoga Hibiki put his now empty rice bowl down.

"Maybe a little." Ryoga Hibiki said. "This world is a treacherous place. It's not easy to get by, not even for me."

I wasn't sure what to think. Even a human could have trouble surviving on Earth? Was this place that harsh?

"But, I don't think they'll worry too much." Ryoga Hibiki went on. "They know how strong I am. And it's not like I was on some kind of terrible mission. So, I'm sure Akane-san's fine."

Ryoga Hibiki went right back to eating.

I was a bit slower than him, as I was thinking while I ate.

Still, I only finished my food a few Earth seconds behind him, and we were off in a minute.

_Three Earth days later..._

"Ryoga Hibiki-san, why does this place smell like sulfur?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." Ryoga Hibiki said. "It might have something to do with why this plateau is absolutely bare, and burned all over."

I looked around. "I have a bad feeling." I said. "Ryoga Hibiki-san, if we must cross this place, we should probably hurry."

"Just a minute, I still need to figure out which way to go next." Ryoga Hibiki said.

He looked at his odd paper again.

I heard a rumbling sound.

We'd only eaten a few minutes ago, so, it wasn't our stomachs.

I looked around.

There were no other humans here.

I looked up. No UFOs, so my people weren't here, either.

Ryoga Hibiki looked around. "There's a chance that we're near a volcano on Shikoku Island." He said. "I don't see one, though?"

Volcano…? Isn't that the rock formation that allows molten lava from the center of this planet to surface, and create new land?

I heard the rumble again, and looked up.

There were clouds in the air. Perhaps I was only hearing what Ryoga Hibiki had called 'thunder', which was a sign of precipitation on Earth.

Ryoga Hibiki was always very quick to find shelter before precipitation began, though.

He continued to stare at his paper, as though he might find something on it.

I heard the rumbling again.

This time, I felt very strong, very large energy, growing all around us.

The air was becoming thick with it.

Breathing was becoming difficult.

"Ryoga Hibiki-san, I think we should be moving." I said. "The aura here is rather ominous."

"Just a minute, I've almost got it." Ryoga Hibiki said.

The sulfur smell was getting stronger.

All of a sudden, I heard a loud noise, like something exploded behind me.

Ryoga Hibiki did not look up from his paper, which probably meant there was no danger to him.

That did not stop me from turning back.

A glowing, orange fluid was seeping up from underground, and beginning to spread around.

It was lava.

Now, I didn't know about Ryoga Hibiki, but, I was rather susceptible even to the heat that Earth lava gave off.

"I'm not waiting anymore!" I cried out.

I grabbed hold of Ryoga Hibiki, and quickly began flying.

Ryoga Hibiki was screaming at me, telling me to let him down the whole time.

"I'm afraid I can't do that!" I said. "Look down!"

He finally stopped screaming, and looked down at the plateau, now nearly full of lava.

"You were right!" I said. "We were standing in an active volcano! Now, if you'll kindly stop struggling, I'll get us out of here."

I flew out as far as I could before I began to descend from the strain of carrying Ryoga Hibiki and his heavy gear around.

I stopped, and landed just a mile out from the base of the volcano.

I sat down, panting heavily.

"Oi, daijoubu?" Ryoga Hibiki asked.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath.

He knelt down in front of me. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" Ryoga Hibiki asked me.

I looked at him, not quite able to speak yet.

"If you can fly, you could've been helping me look for land marks." Ryoga Hibiki said.

I took a deep breath, and sighed.

"I didn't want to be a show-off." I said. "And, since humans walk around the planet all the time, I thought I'd get used to walking, too. Actually, I thought you knew where we were going, too."

"I do know where we're going!" Ryoga Hibiki retorted. "We're going to Nerima, Tokyo! And it'll be this way! Let's go!"

Ryoga Hibiki started away.

I sighed, and followed him away.

_Two days later..._

"R-R-Ryooooga Hib-b-b-biki-ssssan! W-W-Where are w-w-we?" I stuttered.

Ryoga Hibiki turned his paper to different angles, trying to see it through the blistering winds, and snow.

"Th-Th-The ssssscenery r-r-remmminds mmmme of K-K-Kammmmik-k-k-kawa, H-H-Hok-k-kaid-d-do." Ryoga Hibiki stuttered.

I sat down on a rock, shaking like an Earth leaf in stormy winds, wishing I'd held tighter to my bag, at the very least, before Mon disappeared with everything.

"S-S-So mmmany p-p-p-people live h-h-here. W-W-W-We could p-p-p-probably f-f-f-find help nnnearby!" Ryoga Hibiki said.

I looked around.

There was little chance we'd see anything through the snow. No one would hear us over the wind.

"I-I-I'll g-g-get ab-b-bove th-th-the ssstorm, th-th-then!" I said. "M-M-Matte k-k-kudassssai!"

I began to float upwards.

"H-H-Hey! Don't!" Ryoga Hibiki said, reaching out to me.

Before he could touch me, the wind slammed into me, and I was sent tumbling through a white, icy vortex, with no hope of stopping.

I screamed for all I was worth, as the wind blew me farther and farther out.

Finally, I began to notice something other than white. Black specks were flying right at me.

They looked similar to my people's covert ops battle ships.

"Tasukete! Somebody! Tasuketeeeeee!" I screamed.

Suddenly, I felt something rough slam into my head. I only felt it for a second before I went unconscious.

I don't know how long it was before I woke up.

But, I found myself buried in snow, and almost numb all over.

I needed to sit up, and start moving, before I froze to death.

So, I dug out some space around my head, and began gathering up the saliva in my mouth, and throat.

Once I had enough, I spat it out.

I felt it land on my knee.

"Up, then." I said.

I started digging up, and soon found the surface.

The storm had blown over. But, it was still so cold. The only movement that came easily was shivering.

I took a deep breath, and let out a scream, finding it difficult for me to form words with my teeth chattering.

When I ran out of breath, and my scream stopped coming, I listened closely as I began to pant.

I didn't hear anything.

I panted more heavily, as I prepared to scream again.

"Ryoga Hibiki-saaaaannnnn!" I screamed.

The very second that was out, I heard a loud noise all around me.

All of a sudden, I began to fall.

I cried out in shock, waving my arms around, trying to grab something.

"There you are!" came a shout.

I looked around for the source of the voice.

Something rose up beside me, taking hold of me.

I turned, grabbing hold of it for stability.

"Ryoga Hibiki-san!" I said.

He looked at me. "Baka! You don't fly in blizzards!" Ryoga Hibiki barked at me. "Not if you want to survive long enough for your people to find you!"

Ryoga Hibiki landed hard on the ground.

Just as soon as he was stable, I pushed away from him, causing him to release me.

Once I was on my feet, I backed away a couple of steps.

"G-Gomen nasai." I said. "I... I wasn't thinking."

Tears came to my eyes.

Before I could sob, though, my nose felt funny.

I began to breathe strangely.

"Ah... ah... ACHOO!" I blurted out, as I impulsively expelled air from my mouth and nose.

My chest ached slightly, and my breathing became a little heavier, as I recovered from the incredible sneeze.

I sniffled. "What...?" I said.

Ryoga Hibiki approached me. "What's done is done, I guess." He said. "Come on. Let's find a warm place to rest, before you catch cold."

Ryoga Hibiki pulled out a blanket, and put it around my shoulders.

I lowered my head. "You don't have to do this." I said. "I'm hindering your journey."

Ryoga Hibiki scoffed. "I've had worse." He said. "This is nothing."

Right then, he turned his back on me, and knelt down.

"Get on." Ryoga Hibiki said.

I looked him over.

I knew this stance rather well. I'd been in it plenty of times. No one'd offered to do the same for me since I was a child, though.

"Iin desu ka?" I asked.

"I'm offering, aren't I?" Ryoga Hibiki asked.

I hesitated, briefly, before slowly crouching down, and settling down on his back.

He stood up with me, and began walking.

After a while, he pulled out his paper.

I sighed, knowing that he was going to get us into some new form of trouble.

This time, though, I got to see the paper.

It was an old-fashioned map.

He had a map this whole time, yet, we still hadn't gotten to Nerima?

I looked it over quickly.

I spotted the place Ryoga Hibiki said we might be in, and then went looking for Nerima.

When I finally spotted it, I was flat-out shocked.

We were so far North of his destination. How in Uchuu does he think he'll get to Nerima like this? Especially since he's still heading North!

"Ano... Ryoga Hibiki-san." I said.

"Ryoga de ii." He said.

"Oh. Ryoga-san, turn around." I said.

"Hmm? Did you drop something?" He asked.

"No." I said. "But, Nerima is down South of where we are, and you're headed North, if I'm not mistaken."

Ryoga looked around, and then at the map.

"How can you be so sure?" Ryoga asked.

"Well, the sun is rising to our right, indicating that East is right." I said. "East is also to the right of North. See? There's a compass face on the map."

Ryoga looked at the map, then our surroundings.

"This is an Earth map, you know?" Ryoga asked.

"I know." I said. "I'm better with Earth maps than maps on my planet."

Ryoga sighed.

"Alright, I'll follow you just this once." Ryoga said. "If we're not in Nerima within a week, I'm taking over."

I smiled, and nodded. "I accept your challenge." I said.

Ryoga turned around, and headed South, following my exact directions, soon bringing us to a town, where we were able to take a rest...

_Arigato - Thank you._

_Oi, daijoubu - Hey, are you alright?_

_Matte kudasai - Please, wait for me._

_Tasukete - Help!_

_Uchuu – Space / The universe._

_Ano - Umm(One of many calls for attention in the Japanese language. Can also mean 'that', as in to specify something.)_

_Ryoga de ii - Just Ryoga is fine._

_My gosh. That was so easy. Yet, it took so long to write. What did I find so difficult about this before? Anyway, please, review!_


	3. Introduction

**Enjoy!**

Ryoga opened his mouth wide, as he stood before the enormous sign.

I couldn't quite read the kanji, but, I was pretty sure I knew what it said.

"That's another advertisement for a restaurant, isn't it?" I asked. "Are we going there before we go to the dojo?"

He shook his head, and turned to me.

"The sign says 'Welcome to Nerima'." Ryoga said. "What makes you think it's a restraunt ad?"

"Well, your mouth was wide open." I said. "I assumed you wanted to eat, after looking at that sign. I guess I need to learn how to read a little better."

Ryoga sighed, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out his wallet.

"I'm going to buy another map." He said. "Stay right here."

"Hai!" I said.

Ryoga went into the nearby 'gift shop', as he had called previous buildings of it's kind.

I stood outside, on the very hard, rough Earth road.

My new surroundings did not smell very good.

This was my first time in what Ryoga called a 'big city'.

Some of it looked a bit dirty. There were lots of birds on the electric networks. I could hear lots of noise from somewhere inside the city. It was also significantly warmer here, than just about anywhere else Ryoga had taken me.

All of a sudden, I heard something behind me, and turned.

One of the humans' ground-based UFOs was heading towards me.

"Eep!" I gasped, quickly flying up out of the way.

It went right under me, and stopped under the sign.

This was odd. I'd never been in the way of a human UFO before, but, I'd never seen one stop when they passed me.

I slowly landed back in the spot Ryoga had asked me to wait in, as I watched it open up, and a couple of human men step out.

"Oi, daijoubu?" One of them asked.

I nodded.

"Wow, she's not even dirty." The other man said. "It's like we didn't even hit her."

I smiled.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need a ride?" The first man asked.

I shook my head, and pointed at the 'gift shop'.

They looked over, and then turned back to me.

"Are you... waiting on someone?" The second man asked.

I nodded.

They looked at each other, and then back at me.

So many humans do this. Did they have some form of telepathic ability I didn't know about?

"So, are you okay waiting by yourself?" The first man asked.

I nodded.

"Alright." He said.

They boarded their UFO again, closed it, and started away.

More human UFOs started coming down the road.

Even though I knew it would frustrate, if not anger, Ryoga, I flew up out of the road to make space for them.

I waited for several Earth minutes. Ryoga was sure taking his time to pick that map, wasn't he?

I looked over at the shop, and saw him scratching his head by the glass door.

What was going on?

Curiosity over-took me, and I flew over to the door, and pushed it open.  
>"Why do you hesitate? Can you not find a good map?" I asked.<p>

"It's not that." Ryoga said. "I can't find the register."

I poked my head in, and spotted the store register, and the lady at it, watching us closely.

"Ryoga-san, look over there." I said, pointing at the register.

He turned, and his face lit up.

"Oh! Arigatou, Mori-san!" Ryoga said.

He went over to the register, and paid for the map.

Surely, he was just fooling around in an attempt to agitate me?

When we finally left the store, and entered the city, Ryoga handed me the map, and a scrap of paper with writing on it.

The writing was an Earth address.

"Can you find that address?" Ryoga asked.

I looked at the map, and saw that there were exact streets, and districts, and other such parts of the town marked on it.

"Oh! Gladly!" I said.

I looked around for our location, and then at the map, and the paper scrap.

Minutes later, we were on our way to the Tendo Dojo.

We were there in twenty Earth minutes.

The people at the Dojo welcomed us in so easily. Ryoga introduced them to me.

The owner of this Dojo was Soun Tendo, a middle-aged man with long black hair, and a bushy mustache.

The semi-co-owner was Genma Saotome, another middle-aged man, with a piece of cloth tied around his bald head, and big round glasses on his face.

The only woman present, Kasumi, was the oldest of three girls, at nineteen Earth years old, and she was a very motherly-looking woman.

There were three people who weren't present.

One was Akane, the one Ryoga'd been going on about through our travels.

Another was Nabiki Tendo, Soun Tendo's middle daughter.

The last seemed to make Ryoga sick. Ranma Saotome. Genma's son. He would say no more.

"Hajime-mashite!" I said. "I'm truly excited to be here!"

Everyone stared at me from around the table.

My skin began to feel a little thinner.

"Ah, yes. This is Mori." Ryoga said. "She's been traveling with me for the past few weeks. I brought her here so that she would be safe until her fiancée comes back for her."

Things lightened a little bit, and I was able to better compose myself.

"Wasn't she safe where her fiancée left her?" Soun Tendo asked.

Ryoga began scratching his head, as he looked at me.

"More or less." He said. "She was out in the middle of the forest with nothing to help her survive out there."

"Oh, yes. I left my camping supplies on the UFO." I said. "Mon must have been in a big hurry to have forgotten to leave it for me when he left. He's usually so good about things like that..."

I looked around, and saw that everyone's eyes were wide open.

"U...U-UFO?" Genma Saotome asked.

I gave him a funny look, and nodded, wondering, at first, if he'd heard me.

"Ah, Mori-san, I don't think we said anything yet." Ryoga said.

I looked at him. "About what?" I asked.

Only a second later, I understood.

"Oh, yes! Mon is the name of my fiancee. He's very perceptive, and smart, it truly is a shock that he didn't leave me my things, or a note letting me know when he'd be back." I said.

Ryoga slapped his forehead.

"Mori-chan, you said 'UFO'." Kasumi said. "Does that mean you're an alien?"

I turned away from Ryoga, who'd proceeded to rub his temples, and looked at Kasumi.

"Ah, yes. Did we not say?" I asked. "I'm from the nearest galaxy to yours."

She looked surprised, but, only a little, as she reached toward my head.

"May I?" She asked.

I stiffened a little bit. "I-I suppose?" I said.

I was not sure what she was going to do as she reached toward my head, but, she looked so gentle, she couldn't possibly hurt me, right?

She took hold of one of my horns, and rubbed it.

I felt a nasty tingle up and down my spine.

"Are they real?" Kasumi asked, giving that same horn a tug.

"Ahh!" I cried out in protest, pushing her hand away, and covering my horns.

"Please don't do that!" I said. "They've been loose for quite some time, and they're rather sensitive!"

Kasumi tilted her head. "So... they fall out? Like baby teeth?" Kasumi asked.

I gave her a disgusted look. "Teeth have babies? And they fall out?" I asked.

Before she could answer, we heard a door open.

"Tadaima!" came a voice. "Oh? Do we have guests?"

"Probably. So don't go scarin' 'em away, 'kay, Akane?" came another voice.

There was a crashing sound by the door.

"Oh, dear. They're at it again." Kasumi said.

I could only guess at what kind of chaos had just walked through the door, until it came to the doorway...

_Hai - Yes._

_Oi, daijoubu - Hey, are you alright?_

_Arigatou - Thank you._

_Hajime-mashite - Nice to meet you._

_Tadaima - I'm / We're home._

_This was fun to write! Please review!_


	4. Learning Everything

**Enjoy!**

"An alien, huh? That's a new one, eh? Akane?" Ranma Saotome asked.

"Come on, Ranma, it's a bigger deal than that!" Akane said. "She's stranded here, so far away from her family, and friends. She needs help."

I have just been introduced to Akane, Nabiki Tendo, and Ranma Saotome.

Now, Akane and Ranma Saotome seem like good people. However, Nabiki Tendo has been leering at me since Ryoga explained that I was an alien.

"So, you plan on flying a space ship out of the galaxy to get her home?" Ranma Saotome asked.

Akane glared at him.

"No, we're going to take care of her until her fiancee comes back!" She said. "Congratulations! You'll be protecting her from Happosai-oji-san when he gets back tonight!"

I looked at her.

"Why do you give your grandfather such an odd name?" I asked.

Everyone's facial expressions became one at that moment. They all looked very sick, and with fake smiles similar to ones caused by a nasty disease on my planet.

Maybe, I should've studied human psychology a little more. I'm starting to wonder if I'm causing them mental stress.

"Have I... over-looked something?" I asked.

Ryoga put his hand on my shoulder, a bit heavily, as though he was heaving himself up to perform this action.

I looked at him.

"Ryoga-san?" I said.

He looked at me with the most ghastly expression I'd ever seen on any face.

I shied away, slightly, feeling uncomfortable with this change in him.

"Mori-san... You do not want to know anything about the creature they're talking about..." Ryoga said, slowly. "All you need to know... is that they are not calling him their grandfather... understood?"

I did not understand, but, I nodded anyway.

Whatever it was I wasn't supposed to know, I was going to let it be until they were ready to tell me.

"I do not understand in the slightest... But, I will stop talking about it, now." I said.

Ryoga patted my back as the color returned to his face.

"Good. Meanwhile, you'll need to get settled here, until someone comes to get you." Ryoga said.

"Ah, yes." Kasumi said. "Akane, would it be alright if she stayed in your room?"

"Of course! It'll be nice having her here!" Akane said.

"Alright. I'll take a futon to your room, then." Kasumi said.

She stood up, and started out of the room.

I looked around, and spotted a strange round object on the wall. It was strange because I hadn't seen one of this particular shape before.

"Oh, my!" I said. "That's a Human time-telling device, isn't it? It counts the twelve hours of an earth day, doesn't it?"

I stood and walked over to it, to study it more closely.

"You don't have clocks on your planet?" Ranma Saotome asked.

"Just one." I said. "It's huge, and my entire home region uses it. It counts twenty-five hours in our days, though. I knew humans recently started keeping small ones individually, but, I've never seen one of this particular style."

I ran my fingers along the carved wood around the device. At least, it looked like wood. It felt much smoother than wood. Like one of the human materials called 'plastic'.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a glint of light, and turned to see a box, in the corner, with a glass face, similar to a screen.

I walked over to it, and crouched down, noting the ancient-looking controls. I'd only seen these in history classes on my planet, but, I was pretty sure I could work them.

I reached over, and turned the knob.

The screen came on, showing a human man with a strange stick in his hand, talking about a woman in very odd clothing. The whole image was fuzzy, and poorly colored.

"Ah. Soun Tendo-san, someone's trying to convey a message." I said, sitting aside so that he could see.

"Oh, yes..." He said. "That woman's been in town a while. She's probably an American star. We've had so many of them here, lately."

I looked at him. "American? You mean she came from the region of Earth called 'America'?" I asked.

"Yes." Soun Tendo said.

I looked back at the screen, noticing how the people in it had been rambling on the whole time we were talking.

"Rather rude, aren't you?" I said.

They paid me no mind, and continued talking about that woman, and what she was doing in town.

I frowned at them. How rude of them to ignore the people they chose to communicate with!

"Ignore me if you will!" I said. "However, I refuse to be insulted!"

They continued talking.

"Mori, they can't hear or see you." Ryoga said. "The television isn't for communicating."

I looked back at him. "What, then?" I asked. "What good is this 'television'?"

Everyone looked at each other. There goes that Human telepathy again. Why did they do this so often?

"Well..." Akane said. "I like to watch dramas, and soap operas. Sometimes music videos."

Everyone else nodded, and hummed their agreement.

I could only guess what all these things were. And in my head they were rather pitiful. I would say nothing, though, as these people were still willing to house me, and I didn't want to insult them.

Soon, Kasumi returned, and served dinner to everyone. I found questions about just about everything in sight, and almost didn't eat anything.

At bath time, I was asked to join the girls in the bathroom. I agreed, not that I cared which group I bathed with. I'd bathed with my brothers and father most of the time back home, anyway.

In the bathroom, I looked around, noting how different it was. The stone of the walls was smooth, and shiny. The floor was gray instead of orange, like back home. The girls brought in all sorts of bottles, and a couple of stones made of some unknown substance. The piping that produced the water was primitive, and needed to have a knob twisted to produce water. Water that smelled of strange chemicals, and metal.

As I allowed the water to run down my body, I didn't feel myself becoming cleaner, at all.

"Mori-chan, don't you need soap?" Kasumi asked, passing me the odd stone.

I looked up at her.

"Whatever for?" I asked.

"To bathe yourself, of course." Kasumi said. "Don't your people use soap?"

"My mother and sisters do." I said. "But, the water back home cleans just fine. I've never needed to use it."

I looked down at myself, watching the water run down my body, taking no dirt with it as it flowed down the drain.

"In this case, though... how does it work?" I asked.

Kasumi, Nabiki Tendo, and Akane helped me learn to use Earth soaps, and soon, we were sitting in the bath, talking contently.

"Oh, that would be more effective!" I said. "So, twist, grab, twist back, and throw, right?"

"Yeah! I'll show you later!" Akane said. "Maybe I can get Ranma to be our practice dummy!"

I gave her a funny look. Practice... dummy?

"Isn't dummy another word for 'idiot'?" I asked.

Akane shrugged. "That works, too!" She said.

"Dummy is also a word for some types of dolls." Nabiki said.

I thought about that for a moment. An idiot would be no more helpful than if he was a doll... So, perhaps that's where they got the term.

"I suppose I can see that." I said. "I look forward to the lesson, Akane-san!"

Alright. So, I only really spoke to Akane. But, she was the only one I could talk to. I knew things about the subjects she could talk about.

When we got out of the bath, Akane offered me a set of her own pajamas. She was closest to my size, after all.  
>I liked the set she'd offered me. They were yellow, and sort-of fluttery, with pants! I'd worn pajamas before. But, never with pants! These were wonderful!<p>

Akane led me to her room. The whole floor was covered in soft fuzz that tickled my toes. I sighed, and giggled, hopping around on the fuzz a bit.

Akane watched me, a small smile touching her face.

"No carpet on your planet?" She asked.

"Oh, it's carpet?" I said. "But, it's so soft! Carpet on my planet is spiny, meant to catch on clothing, and scratch skin to keep thieves from escaping!"

Akane folded her arms.

"Well, this carpet is mostly for decoration." Akane said. "I guess, now, it's also for making aliens feel welcome in my house!"

I wiggled my toes, still taking in the feeling of the carpet, not quite aware of what Akane had said, yet.

Akane stayed up to do a bit of 'homework' while she talked to me. And, when it came time to go to bed, I got to lie down on the 'carpet', and pull the unusually thick blanket over myself.  
>I must've done something wrong, or strange, because Akane gave me the oddest look while I settled down.<p>

But, after all I'd been through in the last few days, I was exhausted, and didn't think too much of it.

I quickly fell asleep, and began to dream...

_Okay, just to answer a question I'm almost certain you're asking, the 'unusually thick blanket' is a futon. Any other questions will have to be asked in a review or something. So, please review!_


	5. Rude Awakening

**Yay! I'm finally getting back to this! I thought I'd lost my fan fiction spark forever! ... Sorry. I'm ranting. You can get to the story now! Enjoy!**

I felt some of the fuzz from the carpet tickle my nose, and sneezed myself awake.

Once I recovered from the sneeze, I opened my eyes... and saw a huge pair of buggy eyes leering right back at me.

I shrieked, and yanked my hand out from under the blanket to point at them, firing my lightning attack at whatever it was.

I jumped to my feet as the object flew under Akane's bed, breathing heavily.

Akane was sitting up, staring across her room, looking horrified.

All of a sudden, a ringing sound pierced the air, scaring me again.

I screamed, turning around, and firing another lightning attack at the source of the noise, sending it flying through the window.

Something grabbed onto my leg. I jumped, kicking my leg up toward the open window, sending the clinging object flying out of the house with the ringing thing.

I was frozen in the same position for a moment, not even allowing myself to breathe, I was so horrified.

_Click!_

I shrieked, spinning around to fire one more lightning attack at the door.

Ryoga and Ranma Saotome were burnt up in a second, and both fell over. That's when I came back to my senses.

"Ah! Ryoga-san!" I cried, kneeling beside him, and patting his face. "Gomen nasai! Are you alright? Shikari-shite!"

He let out a few grunts of pain, and began trying to move.

Tears came to my eyes.

"Gomen nasai!" I said, my voice breaking. "I should've been more careful! Ryoga-san!"

Ranma Saotome sat up, patting the black from his body.

"Don't worry too much about it." He said. "We've taken worse hits. Akane's punch is more deadly than your electric shock!"

Just as he said that, a fist landed hard on his head. Akane's fist.

She had the scariest glare on her face.

"Say again? I couldn't hear you!" Akane growled.

I crawled back away from her, bringing Ryoga with me so that neither of us would get in Akane's way.

Ryoga sat up, shaking the black from himself, turning to face me so that he wouldn't have to watch Akane beat up Ranma Saotome.

"S-So, what made you scream?" Ryoga asked. "I heard the alarm clock go off, but, you'd already screamed by that time."

I thought back on my terrifying awakening, shivering at the thought of the hideous, enormous eyes I'd awoken to. What kind of creature bore such eyes? Surely no one would put them on toys. They would scare children!

"Something... It was breathing on me, so, I was opening my eyes to see what it was..." I said. "When I saw it... it's eyes resembled those of a monster on my planet... I'm sorry if I got scared of nothing..."

Ryoga looked around at the mess I'd made with my lightning attacks, and folded his arms and legs.

"Well... if it was what I think it was, you beat it pretty well." He said. "I can't say you killed it, though."

I mimicked his movement, and tilted my head.

"Killed... what?" I asked.

_ONEE-CHAAAAAANNNN!_

The cry was old, and ragged, quite like some of the elders on my planet.

The energy behind it... my horns trembled with it, letting me know that a danger was headed for me. No one else. Just me.

I gasped, jumping up, and shooting out the window as fast as I could.  
>Something dropped onto my back. I cried out in shock, flipping over, and shaking to make it let go. When it wouldn't, I turned myself upright, and shot up into the sky, spinning as fast as I could to shake it.<p>

Finally, the back of the pajama top tore off, and the object fell off of me. I held tightly to the front of the top as I slowed myself to a stop, and steadied my head to look down.

I could see nothing through the clouds. Slowly, timidly, I began floating along above the clouds, looking for a clear spot to look through.

As I approached one, I began to hear people calling my name from the ground, sounding like they were trying to convey an urgent message.

I didn't get that message until I saw a purple blur shoot up through the clouds, and up above me.

I cried out in shock, diving down through the clouds, hoping that whatever it was would get confused, and fly around for a while before realizing I was gone.

Once near the ground, I repositioned myself to land on my feet. Ryoga finally made it outside. I ran to him, terror-stricken, and unsure of what was going on. I'd never known a creature of such speed, and had no idea how to handle it.

Ryoga made a strange noise as I leaned against his chest, and his arms flew up into the air, as though he was fighting to keep from touching me.

I looked up at him, and his face went from shock, to a fake smile in a second. I decided to ignore that, as there were more important matters at hand.

"What in Hell is chasing me?" I asked. "Surely it isn't of this world? No Earth creature I've ever studied had such incredible power!"

Ryoga's face settled a bit, and he looked around for signs of the beast that was chasing me.

"Honestly... I don't know that even Hell could handle this thing..." Ryoga said. "But, I won't let it get you. No matter what."

I looked around as well, beginning to feel my horns tingling again.

"That's nice, Ryoga-san..." I said. "But, I'm an alien with powers above that of a human's. If I can't beat it, you can't scratch it!"

Ryoga narrowed his eyes at me. He had to be told, though. I didn't want him to do something stupid, and get himself hurt.

"Somehow... I don't feel so noble anymore..." He said, gently pushing me aside, and beginning to crack his knuckles.

Something purple fell out of the sky, bounced off of one of the stones around the pond, and came at me.

Ryoga stepped in front of me before I could think to do anything, and threw his fist forward, right at the object flying at me.

My eyes snapped shut, and I turned away, waiting to hear a cry of pain, or some indication that Ryoga'd been injured.

Instead, I heard a cocky chuckle. Cautiously, I opened my eyes, and turned to look at Ryoga.

He was still standing, fist extended forward, with something smashed into it.

"Not all humans are like the ones you've read about!" Ryoga said. "You'll come to understand that in the next few minutes, though!"

The thing on his fist pulled itself off, revealing itself to be a very tiny old man with a disturbing face.

A shiver went through my horns, and worked its way through the rest of my skeleton. This old man... how could he have this aura? I thought only younger men could have such an aura! This old man...

"- is the beastly pervert chasing me?" I asked. "Surely, this is a joke? He's much too old to be interested in younger women that way!"

The old man looked at me with teary eyes.

"Onee-chan, how mean!" He said. "It isn't enough that you call me a pervert, but, you call me old as well?"

I stiffened a bit. He was a frail old man, yes... but, he was able to follow me up into the sky without me seeing him, too. I had to be careful of what I said, now.

All of a sudden, a new fist appeared, and slammed down on the old man's head.

Ranma Saotome had managed to get away from Akane, and apparently decided to help bully this old man.

"Don't listen to him, Mori." He said. "He pulls the same thing with every girl he meets. Even Akane!"

A strange bag landed on his head as Akane appeared behind him frowning.

"Didn't we JUST get out of this fight?" Akane asked, darkly. "Haven't you had enough punishment?"

Ranma shook the bag from his head, whipping around to face her.

"Yeah, I've had enough! You just won't stop dishing it out!" Ranma snapped.

They started another argument, forgetting us entirely.

I looked back at the old man, and noticed that he was still holding the other half of Akane's pajama top.

"Pardon me," I said, trying to be gentle, though I was thoroughly shaken. "May I have that back? These don't belong to me, and I'll need to repair them before I return them."

He turned away, and clung to the fabric like a child refusing to give up a toy.  
>I cast my eyes over at Ryoga. He grabbed hold of the fabric, and began trying to yank it from the old man, seeming to have serious difficulty with the task.<p>

"No! I won't give it back! My tender heart has been crushed! You will never get it back as long as I live!" The old man yelled.

I was now beginning to wonder how old he really was. He was behaving just like an infant.  
>But, if he was only upset with me, I was the only one who could make it right.<p>

I put my hand on Ryoga's arm.

"Ryoga-san, stop. I'll handle this." I said.

He scoffed. "Because a puny human can't?" Ryoga asked.

I frowned at his snipe. "No." I answered. "Because I'm the one who made this mess."

Ryoga looked back at the old man, and released the fabric, watching him closely.

I took one step forward, still wary of this man's aura.

"What can I do to apologize?" I asked. "How can I make it up to you?"

The old man leered at me, still clinging to the piece of fabric.

"There is one thing..." He said.

Ryoga stiffened, seeming to know what was coming.  
>The old man jumped up, and kicked him in the face, somehow knocking him aside, and freeing himself.<br>As he touched the floor, he bounced up, heading right for me.

"YOU CAN LET ME CRY IN YOUR BOSOM!" He roared, reaching forward.

I leaned back, screaming in shock, fear slowly coiling in my stomach as I moved away from his scary aura...

_Gomen nasai - I'm sorry._

_Shikari-shite - Get a hold of yourself! (most common translation, anyway)._

_Onee-chan - Yes, it means 'older sister' but, older people use it to address young women, too._

_I am never going to drop the Japanese phrases. They are my thing to do, and I always look forward to writing in new phrases, not just for you, but, for me as well! And I put in translations, so, you can get over it! Anyway, please review!_


	6. Learning the Random Days at Tendo Dojo

**That's right! I'm keeping my Japanese phrases! No one will make me drop them! If you ask me to drop them, I will promptly ignore your review. I've heard enough about that. If you think you can get over the phrases, though, please enjoy the story!**

I stared down at the torn pajama top in my hands, feeling sick, and uncomfortable with my being.  
>I couldn't believe what I'd just done. My father was sure to frown upon me if I ever saw him again. He'd always taught me against doing such things... yet, I did it without a second thought...<p>

Tears formed in my eyes.

"Mori-chan? Are you alright?" Kasumi asked.

She pulled my clothes out of the basket of clothing she'd just brought into Akane's room, and handed them to me.

"No..." I said, fighting back a sob. "Because I was so weak... Because I didn't fight it..."

My hands balled up into fists, and little sparks began flying off of me.

"Ranma Saotome-san is stuck chasing that beastly creature around the town!" I cried. "He saved me from that old man, and now he's in trouble!"

Kasumi put my clothes down on the floor by my knees, and slowly reached out toward me, hesitating briefly to let my lightning settle.

I worked to rein it in, not sure what she had to say, but, willing to hear her out.

Gently, Kasumi placed her hand on my head.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Ranma-kun." Kasumi said. "He knows how to handle himself. He gets into fights with Happosai-oji-san all the time, and always comes back alive, even if he doesn't win. I don't think Happosai-oji-san will hurt Ranma-kun that badly anyway. He plays lots of tricks, but, he never really hurts anyone that badly..."

Her eyes held such a motherly look. It was hard to believe she was just barely an adult. Even if she was human. My older sisters were about her age, and they weren't anywhere near as patient or motherly as Kasumi. Not towards me, at least.

"You're certain he'll be alright?" I asked, picking my clothes up from the floor.

"Oh, yes. He may even get to school on time." Kasumi said.

Her attention switched to the torn pajama top in my arms, and her smile turned to a vexed expression.

"My goodness... Happosai-oji-san really tore that shirt, didn't he?" Kasumi asked. "I don't know if I'll be able to fix it."

I smiled, quickly pulling on my own top, and laying out the pajama shirt, putting the pieces together as close to perfect as I could.

"Mori-chan... your clothes might repair that way, but, these are Earth clothes." Kasumi said. "Once they're torn, they stay that way."

"Of course they do. Clothes don't repair themselves, after all." I said, now placing my fingers on top of the pajama top. "That's why my brothers taught me this little trick."

I used my electric shock on the shirt, watching as the static cling pulled the shirt back together.

"Charge the torn piece of clothing with enough electricity, and, eventually, the powerful static cling will fuse the torn fibers back together, flawlessly repairing the cloth." I said.

"Oh, my!" Kasumi said, watching the cloth pull itself together, and begin to repair itself.

I stopped my electric shock just before the shirt could burst into flames. Small sparks fluttered from the shirt, as I lifted it from the floor.

"Give it a few hours, and it'll be just perfect!" I said. "I've already tested it on Ryoga-san's clothes, so, I know it works on Earth clothing."

"I see." Kasumi said, taking the shirt. "I suppose I'll wash it, and hang it up, and make sure it's back in Akane's drawer by tonight!"

"Great!" I said, hopping to my feet. "Now, you said Ranma Saotome-san was going to school. Is that school close by?"

Kasumi looked up at me.

After a few minutes, she wrote down the address of the school, and pointed to its general area on the map Ryoga had given me.

I was going to attend a human school. At least for today. Just to see what it was like.

"Thank you, Kasumi-san! I'll be off now!" I said.

I changed into my shorts as I flew through the house, and out the door, dropping the pajama bottom on the porch.

The city was a very interesting sight from way up high. Its smell, however, was less than pleasant.

"Ugh! It smells like the Cattle Star in the Farming Galaxy!" I groaned, covering my face as I flew even higher so that I could match the spot on the map with the actual place.

It took a lot of height to match the city with the map, and I managed to rise above the smell of the city.

Once I figured out where Furinkan High School was, I dove right at it, prepared to stop just in time.

Below, I could see the red speck that was Ranma Saotome's shirt. Beside him, I could guess, was probably Akane. I couldn't really tell it was her from a distance, because she was wearing the same uniform as many of the students on the school grounds.

A strange cry of shock sounded from somewhere off to my right. I looked over, and saw an Earth bird flying right into my path, and trying to stop.

I gasped, and began trying to stop, as well. The gravity of Earth was very strong, and the speed that came with my flight didn't help anything. I couldn't stop.

The bird flew right into my face, its talons scratching at my face as it panicked, struggling to get away from me.

I reached to grab the bird several times, but, every time I found I was too scared of the flailing creature to take proper hold of it.

I tumbled through the air, and finally shook the bird off of me just as I fell on top of something. It wasn't exactly plush, but, it saved me from severe injury.

After a moment, I rolled off of the object I'd landed on, and turned to see what kind of damage I'd done to it.

"Ah! Ranma Saotome-san! Shikari-shite!" I cried.

He'd taken the full brunt of my fall, and was now lying on the ground with a funny expression on his face, and dirt all over him.

"What on Earth were you doing?" Akane knelt down on the other side of Ranma Saotome, and began patting at his face.

"Flying." I said. "I didn't want to waste any time coming here, since Ryoga-san is supposed to be here, too."

I looked down at Ranma Saotome, noting that his expression hadn't changed yet.

"I never meant any harm on anyone..." I said. "And that bird came out of nowhere..."

Akane smiled at me.

"Oh, don't think too much of it!" She said. "Ranma gets hit like this all the time! It hasn't stopped him from jumping right back into action yet!"

Just as she said that, Ranma Saotome sprung up, and turned to her, glaring.

"Are you just gonna sit there and pat my face?" He snapped. "I was in genuine pain!"

Akane glared up at him, getting to her feet.

"What was I supposed to do?" Akane retorted. "If you were really badly hurt, I'm not qualified to do anything that could fix a serious injury!"

"Oh, that's a good excuse!" Ranma Saotome growled.

"Yeah? You know a better one, then?" Akane sneered.

"Er... uh...Hmmm..." Ranma Saotome began to fidget, repeating those sounds in a different order.

"Uh-huh! Don't go picking on me for not knowing what to do!" Akane said.

The two glared each other down, creating a very heavy aura that made my horns tingle. Strangely, it wasn't just angry. There seemed to be a slight... apology going on here.

Whatever was going on, they didn't seem like they were going to say anything else, so, I clapped my hands to get their attention.

Both looked at me with expressions of annoyance that I'd only seen a few times in my lifetime. I almost shivered as I took a breath to speak.

"Where has Ryoga-san gotten to?" I asked.

Expressions softened. Gazes trailed around. Fingers rose up to scratch at heads.

I folded my arms, waiting on an answer.

"We don't have time to go look for him now." Ranma Saotome said. "He'll be alright, though. Ryoga isn't hurt all that easily."

"Ranma!" Akane said.

"You know it's true!" Ranma Saotome began to get irritated again. "Do you wanna be late for class?"

Akane's nose wrinkled up with her unwilling scowl.

"What? But, what about Ryoga-san?" I asked.

"He'll be alright!" Ranma said. "He's a tough guy. Come on, Akane."

"A-Alright." Akane said.

The two of them started toward the building.  
>I huffed, and floated up into the air to look around for Ryoga.<p>

"They must not know him very well! Ryoga-san finds trouble at every corner!" I mumbled to myself.

Carefully, I looked around, trying to spot Ryoga. If he was anywhere close, I would see him from way up there.

"Except... if he really wants to be here... he probably won't be anywhere near here..." I said to myself.

Sure enough, I didn't see him anywhere.

Getting frustrated, I flew out, looking for Ryoga.  
>While I could tell when Ryoga was going to get lost, or was already lost, I hadn't quite figured out how he'd get lost, or where he'd end up. But, I had to be with him, or he'd get himself seriously hurt.<p>

Time dragged on, with no luck in finding Ryoga. It was nearly dark by the time I spotted a trail of characters spelling out 'Akane-san' poked into walls, light-posts, the road itself, and even a few steel barrels sitting by the road.

Following that trail, I found Ryoga stopping for directions near the outskirts of Nerima.

"There you are!" I cried.

Ryoga stopped short, and looked back at me as I landed behind him.

"Honestly! I've never known anyone to get so lost on his home planet!" I said. "Come on, now! We are terribly late!"

I put my hand out to him.

Ryoga looked at my hand, then back up at my face.

"And you're sure you can get us back to the Tendo residence?" He asked. "You haven't gotten yourself lost on the way out here?"

I nodded. "I made careful note of the town from above." I said. "I can take us straight back!"

_Later, in the sky..._

"You said you could take us straight back!" Ryoga said.

"Maybe if I had daylight to see by!" I said. "Everything looks different, now! The lights are all confusing, and I can't see anything right!"

Ryoga sighed, reaching into his bag.

"Nanishiterun desu ka?" I asked. "A map won't help me! I can't read in the dark, Ryoga-san!"

"That's why I'm not getting the map!" Ryoga said, pulling out an oddly-shaped metal stick.

He flipped a switch on it, and a beam of light came from inside the stick, hitting me right in the face.

I cried out in slight disturbance, closed my eyes, and wobbled a bit, spooking Ryoga into shouting, too.

"Oi! Don't do that!" Ryoga said, as I began to stabilize.

"Oh! That is not fair, Ryoga-san!" I said.

Ryoga paid me no mind as he pointed the beam of light down, partially illuminating some of the roof-tops bellow.

"Better?" Ryoga asked.

I smiled, and held a little tighter to Ryoga.

"Hai. Arigatou..." I whispered.

With Ryoga's light-stick lighting the way, I got us back to the Tendo Dojo, and Ryoga led the way to the door.  
>Everyone was surprised to see us back, and asked Ryoga question after question about how he'd gotten lost again, and how I'd been able to find him and bring him back so quickly.<p>

I didn't mind that no one paid attention when I asked questions about the new Earth foods on the table. I was just watching their faces... and how they slowly began to look like my family, the way they interacted with one another... while I missed my real family... the aura was too happy for me to remain upset, here.

I spent the night in Nabiki's room, that night. For whatever reason, she took an odd machine in her hands, and walked around me, making it flash a light at me several times. She told me not to worry about it when I asked. So, I calmed down, let her finish what she was doing, and tried to forget about it as I settled down to sleep on the carpet.

That morning, I didn't wake up to Happosai in my face again. But, as I headed out into the hall, I saw a bunch of panicked humans, pulling at their clothing, and shouting in desperation.

"W-What... is going on... here?" I asked.

"I can't get out of my pajamas!" Akane cried.

"None of us can, apparently." Kasumi said, slightly calmer than anyone else trying to speak.

Ryoga looked Akane over, and then looked at me.

"You... fixed Akane-san's pajamas... didn't you?" Ryoga asked. "Right before Kasumi put them through the wash..."

My face began to turn red, and I folded my hands behind myself.

"I didn't realize... it would work the same way it does on your clothes..." I said.

"Mori-san... you klutz... all clothes get static cling!" Ryoga said.

"Mori-chan's powers did this?" Kasumi asked.

My knees began to press together as my posture became more and more insecure.

"I'm sorry... it never does this to clothing on Oniboshi..." I said.

"Well... urgh!... It works on human clothing!" Soun cried out, pulling at his night gown. "How long will it last?"

I kicked at the ground a little, as though there was something at my feet worth kicking.

"The first time I used it on Ryoga-san's clothing... it lasted about one Earth week." I said.

"EH?"

I grimaced, lowering my head.

Humans definitely have some kind of telekinetic powers. There was no way so many people could coincidentally think to say the same thing all at once, and manage to do it so perfectly in sync.

I still had a lot of learning left to do here in the human town of Nerima, Tokyo. Today I learned that humans have deemed certain types of clothing as appropriate for certain occasions... where others simply can not substitute the appropriate outfits. And I have also learned... this so-called 'static cling' passes around rather easily.

Akane, Ranma Saotome, and Ryoga all found some way to put clothes over their pajamas and go to school, and quickly passed their static cling to every human in the building through minor touches. Their clothes soon lost most of the static cling in them, at the price of everyone else gaining some static cling in their clothes. Thankfully, though, most everyone only had to deal with it for a day before all the static cling just left their clothing altogether, and I got away from the experience with no punishment, whatsoever...

_Nanishiterun desu ka - What are you doing?_

_Hai - Yes._

_Arigatou - Thank you._

_Well, there you go! Y'all gotcher wish! I used fewer Japanese phrases! And I'm not in the least bit happy about it! Hope you've got something different to say in your reviews this time..._


	7. This Obnoxious Alien

**Okay… hopefully, by now, you know that I'm leaving in my Japanese phrases. They're part of my style as a writer, and I refuse to change that. Now, if you can tell me what I need as far as the characters, the detail, spelling, grammar etc, go ahead and type away. I'll gladly read what you have to say. Now, bearing that in mind, please enjoy the story.**

I sat on the floor beside Ryoga's seat, eyes heavy, and my jaws aching for me to yawn.

I am attending a human school… and I can't say I've ever been more disappointed. Basically, the teacher tells you to sit down, be quiet, and listen to their boring lectures, and expect you to remember what they say for future knowledge tests.

School on my planet was a lot more fun. Students had enough back-bone to play tricks on our teacher, and sometimes, she would actually laugh at the tricks. Maybe even retaliate, on special occasions.

And learning was easier. My teacher always brought in a visual aid, and made sure to explain things in ways that would keep our attention.

So far, the most fun I'd had in this school was talking to, and learning from the other students in the hallways between classes. I would talk in the middle of class, but, with no one willing to talk with me in class, that wouldn't be of much entertainment.

Therefore, I was stuck listening to this boring teacher go on and on about simple science facts, wishing Ryoga would take me out into town, and teach me more about human culture.

Becoming irritated, I began to float up while the teacher was turned toward the 'chalk board'. Even if no one else had the gall to try and irritate the teacher, I did. Just enough to hover in class when he told me not to, actually.

Ryoga looked up at me, and gave me a very strict expression. I crossed my arms and legs, and smirked slyly.  
>He gestured for me to come down. I rolled my eyes, turning to stare at the markings the teacher was making on the chalk board.<br>I held my finger up in the air, making little doodles that only I would be able to see, as I tried to mimic the teacher's markings.

"Mori-san!" Ryoga whispered, trying to make sure I heard him, and the teacher did not.

I looked down at him.

"Mori-san, come down!" He hissed.

I pointed to my ears, telling him I couldn't hear him, though I heard him clearly.

"Come down!" He raised his voice a little, making a gesture for me to come down.

I cupped my hand around my ear, still pretending like I couldn't hear him.

Ryoga's scowl was perfectly amusing, made even more so when he stood up from his desk in such an angry manner.

"Mori-san, come down!" Ryoga said, still not yelling at me, but, he was loud enough to be heard, now.

The teacher turned around, looking at Ryoga, and then up at me, gaining an irritated scowl of his own.

"Hibiki-san, Uchuujin-san, go stand in the hall at once!" He said.

I smiled brightly, laughing as I attempted a back-flip in mid-air.  
>I didn't get far before I hit my head on the ceiling, and nearly smashed my horns off of my head.<p>

I held them in pain as I slowly descended from the ceiling, and followed Ryoga out into the hall.

Both of us were given buckets of water to hold while we were in the hall.  
>I stood there, happily watching out the window, glad for the quiet and the change of scenery.<p>

Earth's sky was such a pretty blue color, and I liked watching the simple clouds floating along, with the occasional bird flying by.

"What's gotten into you?" Ryoga asked. "Why are you getting me into trouble like this?"

I looked at him, stepping around to face him.

"This school is not fun!" I said. "I thought you might be glad if I helped you out of there!"

Ryoga stared at me, looking tired and frustrated.

"Humans don't work the same as aliens!" Ryoga said. "We have to stay in school to get a good job. Not all of us can decide we want to stay with our parents for the rest of our lives."

I tilted my head.

"How is it necessary? Staying in school to get a 'job'?" I asked. "I thought it was going to school that got you out of doing a 'job'."

Ryoga shrugged.

"Earth is a lot more complicated, I guess." Ryoga said. "Humans have to study very hard if they want to get a certain job. It's easiest while we're young. Meaning, if we don't get our education now, it's likely we won't end up with a very good job, and life will be difficult."

I cast my eyes over at the classroom door, and picked my legs up to fold them in mid-air.

"Why are jobs necessary, then?" I asked.

"That's how we get money to pay for food and housing… most everything on Earth has a price on it…" Ryoga said.

I wrapped my arms around my bucket of water, getting tired of carrying it by the handle.  
>I hadn't really paid for anything before. I'd always lived with Mon, or my parents, after all. I wasn't sure if I even had money, though I had a job.<p>

"Gomen nasai… I did not realize I was troubling you." I said.

Ryoga smiled at me.

"That's alright. We all learn eventually." He said. "You never really had to until now, I guess. You've already got that guard job back on your planet, don't you?"

I shook my head.

"I have not worked as a guard in quite a while… since I met Mon, really…" I said. "It would not do any good to have an Oniboshi job on Earth, though, would it?"

"Well, maybe not." Ryoga said. "But, having that skill as a guard could help. I could get you some Earth law books, and you could become a law enforcement officer on Earth. You'd be the best in the entire planet, as no one can fly, or wield an electric shock here."

I raised my head a little bit.

"You are… encouraging my being a guard?" I asked.

Ryoga nodded. "Is that an insult on Oniboshi?" Ryoga asked.

I smiled, giving the tiniest laugh.

"No. It is quite the opposite, really." I said. "However… No one has ever encouraged me before. My family thought it was too dangerous. Mon thinks it is un-lady-like…"

Ryoga leaned back against the wall.

"And you quit for them?" Ryoga asked. "You couldn't try to prove them wrong?"

I hovered around to float next to him, staring right at him.

"How? My family can be proven wrong. But, Mon is absolutely right, is he not?" I asked.

"That depends on you." Ryoga said. "Do you like the job? Is it fun?"

I nodded. "It was the only job that ever interested me." I said.

Ryoga smiled.

We began discussing ways to help me get along better here on Earth, as well as a few tricks to help me when I got home.

Ryoga had wonderful insight in the art that was self-defense. It was so nice to hold a conversation like this with a man, without him trying to avoid talking about it with a woman. Not many men would talk to me seriously about these things. But, Ryoga did.

The only reason we stopped talking was because I got spooked by the irritatingly disturbing class bell.  
>Students began leaving the classrooms.<p>

Among them were Ranma Saotome, Akane, and a friend they'd introduced me to, named Ukyo Kuonji. With them here, conversation was bound to broaden a bit.

"Mori-chan, you can't be rude to the teacher like that!" Akane said.

"For once, I agree with Akane." Ranma Saotome said. "Kuno-kouchou will probably come after you with a pair of scissors if you keep this up!"

"That's right. He'll cut off your hair if you step out of line like that again." Ukyo Kuonji said.

My back stiffened, and I shivered a bit.

"That is outrageous." I said. "Principals on my planet do not violate their students in such a manner! It is bad for their reputation!"

"You'd think it would be bad for this one's reputation, too." Akane said. "But, our parents don't believe us, and he doesn't care about reputation, apparently."

I huffed, wrapping my arms up around my head, careful of my horns.  
>I was bored with this school, and I wanted to make things livelier around here, but, not at the cost of the hair I worked so hard to grow-out and keep long.<p>

"So, how was standing in the hall?" Ranma Saotome asked. "I see you didn't get wet, P-chan!"

Ryoga glowered at him.

"It was just fine, not that it's any of your business!" Ryoga said. "Mori-san asked a few questions, and I answered them. That's all."

"Wow, Ryoga-kun! You've become a good role-model for Mori-chan, haven't you?" Akane asked.

He smiled a bit shyly, and scratched his head.

"W-Well… I'd hate to brag… but, it's hard not to be her role-model, after being around her for so long, already…" Ryoga said.

A deep blush covered his face, and his eyes locked with the floor, though, it was clear he was looking off into some other dimension that no one else could see.

"You really like Akane-san's praise, don't you?" I asked.

As soon as I said that, Ryoga's vision returned to Earth, and he looked at me.

"W-What makes you say that?" He asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"You think you are hiding it?" I asked. "Hmm. Forgive me for addressing it."

I folded my arms behind myself, and moved over toward the window.

"Which class are we off to next?" I asked. "Mathematics? Earth Biology? Perhaps the history of this country?"

"It's lunchtime, actually." Ukyo Kuonji said. "I'll save us from having to deal with the lunch rush, and make lunch today, okay Ran-chan?"

The nickname caught my attention, and I looked around, expecting to see a new face around us.

"Hey, that's great Uu-chan! I'll leave it to you, then!" Ranma Saotome said.

Ran… ma… I get it, now. He's a Ran-chan.

My spirits dampened a bit, and my feet drug across the ground as I followed them out of the school, and over to Ukyo's restaurant.

I barely picked at my lunch when it was given to me. Partly because I didn't know how to eat 'okonomiyaki' yet. And partly because my home-sickness was filling up my belly, and making it hard for me to have an appetite.

Upon returning to the Tendo Dojo that evening, I was a little better. At least I was eating.  
>But, there was still a gaping hole in my chest, and tears were threatening to spill from my eyes.<p>

I wanted to go home… I wanted to go home soon… If I could just see my family and friends again, I would feel a lot better… But, it seemed, I was going to get to see them… ever again…

_Uchuujin – Space person / Alien._

_Gomen nasai – I am sorry._

_Kouchou – Principal._

_Okonomiyaki – (lit.) Everything you want fried (Basically, it's a really thick, savory pancake)._

_Well, there you have it. Minimal Japanese phrases, and translations. Lots of detail. Some character build-up. Am I missing something here? Let me know. Please review!_


	8. Bad School Day

**Chapter 8… I thought I had this all planned out… this is what I get for waiting I guess… Oh, well! Every story of mine has an 'I'll just wing it!' chapter! Why not this one? Please enjoy!**

"Mori-chan, are you really alright?" Kasumi asked.

I looked up from the bowl of rice in my hands.

"Absolutely! Why do you ask?" I asked.

Kasumi brought her hand to her face, apparently considering her words carefully.

"Well…" She said. "It's just…"

I cast my eyes around the table, and saw that everyone was looking at me while they ate.

"If I am not mistaken, it is rude to stare, no matter what planet one visits." I said.

All eyes trailed back to the food.  
>Ryoga put his chopsticks aside, and picked up his miso soup bowl.<p>

"No one means to be rude, Mori-san." Ryoga said. "But, no one knows how to ask… why did you tie that ribbon over your horns?"

Everyone was staring at the cloth I'd tied around my head to protect my horns from… everything.

"I… I tied it there… because my horns are getting looser." I said. "The slightest jostling makes them hurt, so, I tied this ribbon around my head to keep them from shifting so much."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to let them fall out?" Ranma asked.

I recently found out that I was making his name longer than it had to be, by using his family name along with his given name. Humans have to be very specific about who a person is for legal reasons, thus, the whole family has a name they share. But, I don't have to be so specific when I'm talking right to him. I can just use his given name. How easy it is, too!

"I… suppose…" I said, as I cast my eyes up, though I would not see the ribbon wrapped around my head.

"If you'd like, we can help you pull them out?" Soun offered.

"That's a great idea, Tendo-kun! After all, we were experts at pulling out baby teeth when these kids were growing up! Horns should be no different!" Genma said.

I stiffened, suddenly feeling very cold.  
>Pull… out… my… horns? Was he serious? No! He must be joking!<p>

I gave a nervous laugh.

"T-That is amusing!" I said. "Pull out my horns… humans tell such funny jokes!"

Soun and Genma looked at each other, and then back at me.

Oh… I hate that look right now… they're not kidding, are they?

I quickly scarfed down my food, nearly choking myself at the last swallow, and tripping as I got up from the table, stumbling all the way over to the door.

"Gochisou-sama deshita!" I cried, falling to a sit beside the door, and working to pull on my shoes.

Just as soon as my shoes were on, I dashed out, stumbling on my own two feet.  
>I caught myself before I fell. About then, I finally remembered I was trying to be careful of my horns, thus, I needed to be careful of the rest of me, too.<p>

I took a deep breath, standing up straight and turning to look and see if Ryoga had come along, yet.  
>I'd made it a habit to make sure I took him to school with me, so that he wouldn't get lost again. And poor Ryoga seemed terribly prone to getting lost, somehow…<p>

I ended up waiting for a while, letting them all finish eating and get their shoes on before coming out to join me.

Ryoga looked up at me with a slightly sad expression.

"Oh, dear… what have I missed?" I asked.

He gave me a tiny smirk and careful placed his hand on my head, making sure he didn't touch the ribbon, or my horns underneath.

"You've been so loyal to me… like a little sister, really…" Ryoga said. "I was hoping today, though, that you would go on ahead without me."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"And risk you ending up all the way back in Asahikawa?" I asked. "Ryoga-san, I will not abandon you. Of that, you can be sure!"

Ryoga continued to stare at me with that same sad expression.

"Mori-san… I'm leaving today… and I'm not ever coming back…" Ryoga said.

I folded my arms, trying to figure out what was going through his head.

"What about an education?" I asked. "You need one to get a job, correct?"

"I'll get an education… in martial arts… I'll open my own Dojo someday." Ryoga said. "But… I need to leave here to get that education…"

I still didn't quite understand. And I wasn't quite ready to leave yet, as I was growing used to sleeping in a house, having three meals a day, and spending my day in school, learning about human culture.

But, if Ryoga was ready to go, I was in no place to argue with him, as he'd saved my life many times on the way here.

A small smile touched my face.

"Alright. Where are we headed, then?" I asked.

Ryoga removed his hand from my head, still being careful of my horns.

"_I_ am headed for Okinawa, where some great martial artists live." Ryoga said. "You should stay here with the Tendo family, where you'll be well cared-for."

My smile fell. He was… leaving me? Why? What did I do?

"But, Ryoga-san… I want to stay with you…" I said.

"That's why this is hard for me, too." Ryoga said. "I don't want to leave you… but, I think… it's better for you if I leave you here, where you can have… a good life… no matter what happens…"

I shook my head, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

"No! No! I will follow you!" I cried. "At least until my family comes for me! Please! Just until then!"

Ryoga lowered his head.

"Forgive me… and try to give Akane-san my best… Sayonara…" Ryoga said.

With that, he darted around me, and ran out through the gate.

Getting frustrated with his latest mood-swing, I flew after him; prepared to give him a dose of electricity if that was necessary to convince him to take me with him.

"Ryoga-san, I find this behavior of yours obnoxious!" I yelled. "People on Oniboshi do not put up with behavior such as this! We put a stop to it! Stop before I make you stop!"

He continued running as though he hadn't heard me. I could feel anger bubbling up inside me. Ignore me when I make a threat, would he? I'd teach him!

"Ryoga-san! I don't want to do this, but, I will!" I cried, pointing at him.

I closed my eyes, and let my electric sparks fly.

His oddly shrill cry of pain told me I got him. I slowed to a stop before I opened my eyes, and saw him lying on the ground, burnt up, with a goofy look on his face.

Humans are very durable creatures, though. So, I knew he was okay.

"Now, you and I are going to school and getting an education to get our jobs!" I said. "I do not think you should be leaving in this particular state. We will leave together, tomorrow, after giving our friends a proper farewell!"

I grabbed him by his backpack, and took to the skies, flying as fast as I could to reach the school on time.

The bell was just ringing as I found Ranma and Akane, and flew into the building with them.

For the whole first class, I had to hold Ryoga in place in his seat, as he wasn't entirely conscious, and capable of sitting up yet.

By the second class, though, he was up, and moving by himself… but refused to speak to me.

"Ryoga-san, this is childish!" I said. "I had to stop you before you offended our friends!"

He made no sign of acknowledgement as he hurried on through the hall, making me work to keep up with him.

Ranma and Akane were jogging right beside me, not working particularly hard to catch up.

"What happened with him?" Ranma asked.

I huffed, frowning at the back of Ryoga's head.

"I stopped him from leaving town without properly thanking you for your hospitality, and giving a proper 'good-bye'!" I said. "Is that something to fall silent about?"

Ryoga looked back at me over his shoulder, leering.

"I should've left sooner…" Ryoga said. "Maybe I wouldn't be dealing with you right now!"

"You? Dealing with me?" I retorted. "Without me, you would probably be stuck wandering all of Japan, and never getting to see your precious Akane-san ever again!"

Ryoga froze, suddenly. I bumped into him before I stopped.

Akane and Ranma stopped. Ranma looked smug. Akane was staring at me with absolute shock on her face.

"What is the matter?" I asked. "Did… Did I go too far?"

I walked around to look at Ryoga's face. He looked… sick. I had gone too far, hadn't I? What did I say, though?

Before I could ask, I heard a door smash open, and whipped around to look.

"WHOSE PRECIOUS AKANE-SAN NOW?" A man had burst through the door, holding a sword, and was now running at us. "CERTAINLY NOT YOURS, RANMA SAOTOME!"

"Feh! As if!" Ranma scoffed, putting his bag down, and jumping at him.

The two clashed, and the crazy swordsman was sent tumbling down the hall.

Were they… fighting for… possession… of Akane? Wow. I'd heard of fights like this, but, I'd never actually seen one.

"She… wasn't supposed… to know… yet…" Ryoga whispered behind me.

I looked back at him. He was waiting to tell her? Oh, dear… I'd done something horrible…

The crazy swordsman landed neatly on his feet, and went running at Ranma again.

"You will not have Akane Tendo, you scum!" He roared.

"Oh, please, spare me the agony!" Ranma sneered.

Just as the man got close enough, Ranma threw a punch, and knocked the man into a nearby drinking fountain. In turn, the fountain released a powerful jet of water, spraying everything across the hall from it.

"Ah! Shimata!" Ranma gasped, putting his arms up to block the water.

Akane cried out in shock, and jumped back.

In a second, I was in front of Ryoga, trying to keep him from getting hit by the water. I'd seen it… while we were in Asahikawa… the terrible things water did to him…

I looked back at him, but, I didn't see him.

"Oh, no!" I said.

I looked down, and spotted him in his most accursed form… the water had turned him into a black piglet.

Before I could try to apologize, he darted off. I took a step to go after him, and slipped on the wet floor, falling back, and landing on my hindquarters.

I looked off down the hall, and saw Ryoga run around a corner.

"Ryoga-san…" I said, staring after him.

"That's it! I've had it, Kuno!" came a feminine scream.

"Oh! Pig-tailed girl!"

I turned to focus on getting up, vaguely aware of the powerful body throw going on at my right.

I slipped, landing on my knees, this time, and turned as I saw something coming at me.

There was no time to move. I couldn't stop it as someone's face connected with the top of my head…

_Gochisou-sama-deshita – Thank you for the meal._

_Sayonara – Good bye._

_Shimata – Oh, crap (roughly)._

_Well… that came out a little bit… weak, compared to what I had planned. But, I think the next chapter will be much stronger because of this. If you'll be patient with me, I promise, I'll pull through. I usually do. Please, review!_


	9. How To Forgive

**Okay. Chapter 9. Yeah. I have very little actually planned out for this one… but, that can lead to something great! I'll see what I can do! Please, enjoy!**

"Mori-chan? Aren't you hungry? Won't you come join us at the dinner table?"

I could hear Kasumi outside Akane's bedroom, trying to beckon me out. This was futile, but, sweet that she was trying.  
>I was a complete mess. I'd hurt Ryoga and then allowed him to be cursed by the water. I was dirty and a bit hungry, because I hadn't really moved from Akane's bedroom since I got back from the school. Ranma, Akane, Ryoga and the other student involved, Kuno I suppose his name was, were all going to be called back to help repair the damage to the school hall… I knew I'd have to help them, too… But I couldn't bear to move from wear I was. I sat off to one side of the door, so that it would hide me if anyone came in to look for me. I had a towel over my head to hide my face and my knees up to help that purpose. All I'd said to anyone since the incident at school was 'Forgive me'. Tears stained my face, but I wasn't really crying anymore. I was just trying to let the pain of guilt and humiliation subside just enough for me to leave the room and go talk to everyone again. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was a very slow process and I didn't want anyone to be there for it, though I wasn't doing anything in particular. I suppose... I was still a bit proud, though they'd probably heard me crying, earlier.<p>

I heard Kasumi sigh and watched her shadow disappear from beneath the door. She'd given up yet again…

_Ryoga takes over…_

Ranma leered at me from across the table. Much as he doesn't like to admit it, he hates it that Akane likes me better than him…

"P-chan, say 'ah'!" Akane cooed, holding up a bite of rice for me.

Paying little mind to the little nickname she'd given me, I opened my mouth and allowed her to feed me. Right. This is the first time Mori's let me take over. My name is Ryoga Hibiki. 16-year-old, male, earthling martial artist. A while back, I discovered an alien girl stranded in a forest with no means of taking care of herself and took her with me to find shelter. She and I went through a rather tough journey to get to Nerima, Tokyo; the one place I could think of that she would be safest. She was a bit teary to begin with, as she'd never been so far from her family before, she tells me. But, after a while, she got a bit stronger and helped me survive a couple of near-death situations. I've mostly stuck around to make sure she's comfortable with living in the Tendo Dojo, but I didn't intend to stick around for very long. So, just as soon as I found that she was doing well enough on her own and that Akane was fine without me, I decided to tell her 'good-bye' and be on my way. But, just as I was heading out, Mori chased after me, charged me with enough electricity to power the entire country for a week and dragged me off to Furinkan High School, acting like I was the one behaving irrationally.  
>I couldn't actually move until after she got me there, but, once I could, I did what I could to keep some distance between us and keep silent, as I didn't know what I could do to punish her when she could fly and use electric shocks. While I did that, she blurted out my feelings for Akane. How she came to know of them, I don't know. But, somehow, a fight broke out around me, and a drinking fountain got smashed. Having learned about my curse from our earlier travels, Mori tried to protect me from the water, to no avail. I ran out before the fight was over, trying to keep Akane from seeing my transformation. Apparently, I missed something by leaving so quickly. While I'm not too keen on worrying about her right now, no one saw Mori come in, though we know she's in Akane's room. She won't come out and she won't say anything but 'Forgive me'. I'm happy to be sitting in Akane's lap and letting her feed me and cuddle with me like I dream she will… but, I'm P-chan to her. She's hugging her pet piglet right now. And off in the house is an alien girl going through some kind of stress that could turn her into a bomb of electricity if she hasn't had some sense talked into her head yet. Between having the girl I love hold me and pamper me as though I'm her husband and having the little alien who looked up to me be on the verge of destroying half the city because she's upset about something, I was having trouble deciding which one was of higher priority.<p>

"Bet yer not so mad at Mori anymore, are you, 'P-chan'?" Ranma grumbled. "She's up and put you in Akane's arms to be pampered all night, and into the morning!"

I glared over at him.

"Cut it out, Ranma! P-chan hasn't even met Mori-chan, yet!" Akane scolded. "Why would he be angry with her, anyway? She's a sweet alien girl… granted she doesn't always say the right things, but she means well."

Ranma scowled up at her, this time. "Says 'the girl who missed Mori's cuteness un-doing line because she was dozing while watching the clouds outside'!" he sneered.

Akane glared at him, beginning to shove her chopsticks a little too far into my mouth. I began to squirm, trying to get her attention and keep myself from gagging at the same time. "Excuse me!" Akane yelled in his face. "I didn't see you helping keep Happosai-oji-san off of her last night! You were too busy lying on the floor like a rug!"

"Hey! I suffered his paralysis attack trying to keep him from getting in there!" Ranma snapped.

"Now, now, you two." Kasumi said, trying to calm the mood. "Please, not so loud. Mori-chan won't come out as it is. If you get too loud, she might get scared and never come out of Akane's room."

Ranma and Akane continued to glare at each other as they began eating again. Akane was getting a little rougher with me without knowing it, shoving bigger bites just a little too deep into my mouth. I filled up a little faster than usual while she did this… and she insisted I eat more. Because of this, I couldn't see it. Because of Akane and Ranma's auras, no one else saw it either. But, we probably should've seen it…

_Mori resumes…_

The hallway was quiet. Whatever Kasumi'd said down there, it'd calmed everyone down. For a while, things were quiet and I was able to try and think about where Ryoga might've gone. He didn't have any particular pattern of travel. Nothing I could use to figure out exactly where he'd be. No particular trails I could follow… except for the holes he would poke in the ground that spelled out Akane's name. Maybe he's leaving one of those trails right now? After all, it was my comment on his feelings for Akane that truly hurt him. That would be just the thing he would do. _I ought to go find him before he decides to break out into a sprint, and tear through everything in his path…_ I thought to myself.

I turned to look up at the door knob, trying to find it in me to stand. With my ear turned against the door, now, I could hear the outside world a little clearer. Some kind of fuss was going on at the dinner table… probably Ranma and Akane, as those two fight the most of anyone in this house. But, just a little closer to me, I could hear light footsteps. They sounded like they were getting closer. Whose footsteps were that light, though? Even Kasumi made more noise when she walked.  
>I raised my head, my spine beginning to stiffen. The only reason Kasumi didn't have the quietest footsteps in the house… was because she was quite a bit bigger and heavier than the person with the quietest footsteps in the house.<br>My skin grew cold, and I began to quiver a bit. That beastly thing… I could only hope it was going to take a bath now.

The footsteps continued on and my body continued to shiver. Suddenly, just outside the door, they stopped and my breath followed. I couldn't be sure if I was hearing the hallway just right, now. My heart was beating fast and loud and I couldn't tell if he was moving outside or not. I cast my eyes down to look for a shadow from outside. Nothing. Did I just miss it when he walked on by?

_Clika-click!_

I nearly screamed when I heard the door knob turn. I froze with fear as the door slowly swung open. I looked to the wall and didn't see a shadow, at first. And then something small hopped down from the door, revealing it to be exactly what I feared…

_Ryoga speaks again…_

A shriek rang from the second floor of the house, swiftly turning the aura from an angry one to one of concern.

"Oh, dear. Where did Happosai-oji-san go?" Kasumi asked.

That question told us exactly what was going on.  
>Akane dropped me as she and Ranma took off upstairs. Soun, Genma and Kasumi hurried after them to watch the fight about to break out. Finally left to myself so that I could find means of returning to my normal form, I snuck upstairs behind everyone and slipped into the bathroom.<p>

_Mori returns…_

I dashed out of the room, that ghastly ancient creature clinging to my back. I could feel him beginning to crawl around in front of me and shrieked loudly, not sure what else I could do. Ranma and Akane came running. "Akane! Get ready to catch her!" Ranma cried.

"Right!" Akane said.

Ranma came to me and grabbed the old hermit on my back. I didn't realize until my feet were swinging around through the air that he was swinging us around. I could feel my top beginning to tear in the back. I would soon be rid of this old hermit… at the cost of the only top left to me when Mon disappeared. I wrapped my arms around my body, trying to keep what I could of the top as it finally tore and freed me of the elderly human pervert. I went flying and fell onto Akane, knocking her back.

"Akane! Are you alright?" Ranma called, struggling to keep hold of the old bug-like human.

She cradled me in her arms as she sat up to answer Ranma. "Yeah." Akane said. "Go throw him out the window or something."

"Like I need to be told." he replied.

I watched as he took the writhing old hermit into the other room, tears still streaming from my eyes.

"Mori-chan, daijoubu ka?" Akane asked, gently.

I couldn't find it in myself to speak. That old man's antics plus the stress of school earlier today was simply too much for me to think through, really. For several moments, my head was absolutely blank and I didn't know what to say or do or feel. I was hurting, I think… but I definitely wasn't happy. All of a sudden, a lock clicking open filled my head and I could see the bathroom door sliding open slowly. Through the crack in the door, I saw someone peek out… and, all at once, I knew I was scared and distraught and I needed comfort. "Ryoga-san!" I cried.

I hopped up and ran to the bathroom door, throwing it open as I threw my arms around him. "You are here!" I cried. "I was so worried! I am so sorry for everything I did! I will make amends to you, so, please, do not leave me again!"

He was stiff in my grasp. I knew it was because he was uncomfortable with me holding him while he was only wearing a towel. Humans are terribly modest creatures when it came to nudity around people of the opposite sex. It didn't much matter to me, as I used to bathe with my brothers and father all the time but, though he and I have been together for a while, Ryoga still gets nervous in such a situation.

"M-Mori-san… Sure! I'll take you with me again, just, please, let go of me! I need to get dressed!" Ryoga said.

_A few minutes later, in Ryoga's POV…_

"So, you really forgive me? After all the mess I caused?" Mori asked.

"Hey, no one deserves to have that old fart cling to them for any period of time." Ranma said. "Having him come after you like that was punishment enough!"

I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself, holding Kasumi's robe against myself, though I was already wearing it.

"We'd just like to know one thing." Akane said.

I looked over at her. She gave no indication as to what they wanted to know. Ryoga reached toward me and gently placed his hand on my head, addressing the towel on it. "What's with this towel?" he asked, mild concern in his tone. "There're bloody spots on it."

Very gently, he took hold of it and slowly pulled the towel off of my head…

_Daijoubu ka – Are you alright?_

_Well… I've done better, but that wasn't too bad. Anyway, please review!_


	10. Cleaning up, coming clear

**Not sure what I was going to do with this one to begin with… I won't leave it unfinished, though. That's not in my nature. Here I go. A new chapter. Enjoy!**

I returned to the site of the broken water pipe with more towels and another mop. The water had been shut off and the pipe was almost fixed, but the puddles seemed endless. As a matter of fact, I could barely turn around without finding a new puddle right behind me, even if I'd already cleaned up that spot.

"How're you holding up, Mori-chan?" Akane asked, taking the mop from me.

I placed my newly freed hand up on top of my head and sighed as I felt a thick bandage where my horns would've been. "I am fine… I suppose…" I said. "It hurts a little… not near as badly as my siblings said it does."

Akane nodded, beginning to mop up a puddle that appeared behind me. "Are you sure it doesn't hurt all that badly?" she asked.

I turned around to look for a puddle to clean up. "No, it does not hurt unless I touch it." I said. "Even then, it only stings a little."

Akane looked at me, still looking a bit concerned.

"Why? What is wrong?" I asked.

Ranma dashed through with towels on his feet to soak up the water and retrieved two dry towels from me. "Can you try to stop the waterfalls running from your eyes?!" He grumbled. "You're soaking the floor every time we dry it up!"

I touched my cheek and pulled my hand back to find it soaked.  
>Truth be told… my head was keeping a constant ache and it stung rather badly when I touched my head. But I felt I would be troubling them if I mentioned I was in such pain. Mon always did hate it when I came to him about my injuries… I was covering the pain really well, I thought, but those tears would not stop flowing. Even when I could get myself to laugh, they kept coming.<p>

"F-Forgive me." I stuttered. "I did not realize I was causing trouble."

In a swift motion, Ranma squashed my face between both of his towel covered hands and began roughly rubbing the tears from my face and catching the new ones that formed behind the dried ones. All the twisting and shaking around made it difficult to do anything other than stand there and grunt while he tried to stop my tears.

"Ranma, that's too rough! Stop it!" Akane said. "You'll only make her cry more!"

"What else can we do? I stayed up all night to keep Happosai away from your room last night!" he retorted. "You and Kasumi were comforting her all night and she's still pouring tears, even if she's not sobbing! She lost her horns two days ago! She needs to stop crying, at least!"

He came to an abrupt stop as Akane slammed her mop down on his head, glaring at him. "You jerk! Just what is forcing her to stop crying going to do?" she snapped.

Ranma snapped back up, meeting her glare with one of his own. "It's not like _I'm_ hitting _her_ over the head with a mop!" he roared at her. "I'm just trying to dry her eyes!"

"That doesn't justify the fact that you _are_ being rough with her!" Akane retorted.

I stepped back out of his line of grip so that he wouldn't grab me again. Slowly, I backed away from the growing argument and bumped into someone. Ryoga grunted quietly as I turned to face him.

"I-I apologize!" I said. "I was not aiming to bump into you, I promise!"

Ryoga stared at me like I was having some sort of unexplained fit of madness. "I know. You're backing away from them, right?" he asked.

He pointed at Ranma and Akane. I gave a nod, not pulling my attention from Ryoga.

"I don't blame you." He said. "I love Akane-san to death, but she can be very scary when she and Ranma go at it like this."

I raised my head in slight surprise and turned to look over at Ranma and Akane. They hadn't noticed what Ryoga'd said in the least. _So… He doesn't want her to know he loves her?_ I thought to myself. _What good does that do?_

I turned to Ryoga, a question coming to mind. "Ryoga-san… I realize that I was speaking out of turn the other day, when I spoke of your feelings…" I said. "I also realize that you do not want your feelings known… But, I must ask, why? Wouldn't it be better to tell her how you feel so that she may return your feelings?"

Ryoga turned away from me to watch Ranma and Akane fight. A tiny smile touched his face and I couldn't be sure what he was thinking. "I guess you Uchuujin are just that simple and straight-forward on your planet, huh?" Ryoga asked. "You need only confess your feelings and they will be returned… We humans tend to wait a while, though."

I tilted my head to the side. "Doushite? Such good feelings were meant to be shared. Why hide them?" I asked.

He propped himself up on the mop, looking a bit dazed as he watched the fight… or, at least Akane's side of the fight.

"Different people have different reasons for hiding their good feelings." Ryoga said. "Pride… Poor timing… The one they love already has someone… I'm just scared, though…"

"What of?"

He was silent for a bit, watching as Akane threw Ranma to the floor, using him to rub up some of the puddles on the floor. "She's really cute and so many guys like her… some of them are better guys than me," Ryoga said. "So even if I tell her I like her, there's a chance that she's already decided she likes someone else… she just hasn't told them yet…"

I turned to watch the fight as Ranma got up and began mopping Akane's face and hair.

"All in all, everyone will probably share one reason to hide their feelings." Ryoga said. "It's to be sure of them. They'll ask themselves plenty of questions while they wait… Is this really the person I like?... Would we get along alright?... Do they accept me for who I am?... Would they still love me if I lost my best character trait?... Asking these questions helps humans pick the right person to be with. Love at first sight really only happens in fairytales, here on Earth…"

_Waiting… Asking questions…_ I thought to myself. _It makes sense, the way he puts it…_

I remembered the day I met Mon, right then. I'd confessed my feelings for him right away, loving everything about him just from looking at him. I didn't feel any need to ask any questions about him, to myself or anyone. _But Mon and I are Uchuujin! We are different from humans!_ I thought to myself. _Yes, we are in love! There is no question!... So why did Mon disappear, then?_

My heart skipped a beat. It was a very painful skip and my body felt a bit colder after that. My tears came to a stop, the pain was that bad.  
>I'd avoided the subject for all I was worth… but now, I was beginning to trail toward asking the questions Ryoga'd just mentioned… and it was causing an ache in my chest…<p>

_Ryoga takes over…_

I cast my eyes over at Mori. Her gaze was lowering to the floor. Vaguely, I wondered if I'd said something wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to ask. Because, somehow… I already knew the answer.

She was thinking about her fiancée, who'd 'disappeared' the same day she found herself stranded on Earth. She was questioning her situation, at the very least. Perhaps Uchuujin weren't all that different from humans after all? Perhaps it was just that she was young and naïve and didn't really know her own feelings just yet? Whatever the case, she was beginning to change a bit, now. Possibly even grow.  
>That thought made me feel a bit strange. On one hand, it was good that she was changing. She was such a clumsy little alien and always said the wrong things, so, if she learned something here, that was one less wrong thing she would say. On the other hand… What would this do to her on the deeper level? Would she be hurt? Would she be angry? Would she start crying again? Not that it appeared that she'd ever stopped in the first place…<p>

Suddenly, she jerked her head up, waking me from my little daze. She turned to me, putting her arm out in front of me in a protective manner. I didn't really realize what was going on until the mop and my feet were knocked out from under me from Akane throwing Ranma across the floor, accidentally hitting me in the process. I yelled out in shock, falling toward the floor…

_Mori resumes…_

I saw it before anyone else, even the ones involved. Akane threw Ranma over her shoulder and he was flying right toward Ryoga.  
>My painful reverie was gladly pushed aside as I realized that I was the only one seeing what was going to happen and I turned to warn Ryoga. In that instant, I forgot how to use my voice and only put up my arms to protect him from the blow coming toward him… except that Ranma was flying just a little too low for me to catch and headed for Ryoga's feet.<br>Ryoga never moved as Ranma bowled under his feet and panic struck me as he began to fall. I reached for him… and grabbed a fist full of his hair, narrowly keeping his face from colliding with the floor. For a moment, everything was still, recovering from the shock of everything that'd just happened. I panted a few of times, gathering myself to start thinking again. A slight shift of my finger reminded me of how I was holding onto Ryoga and I gasped, quickly pulled him up to stand and stepped back.

"Forgive me! I grabbed your hair again!" I said. "You told me so many times and I know better, but-"

"It's alright."

I fell silent, looking up at him. Ryoga rubbed his head calmly, quietly, not looking to be in any pain.

"Yanked hair is better than a face-plant on the floor." He said. "That was actually a great catch, too… Remind me to praise it properly once I'm through pummeling this idiot!"

Ryoga spun around and started an attack on Ranma. A red blur slipped out of Ryoga's line of attack. As it came to a stop by one of the classroom doors, I could see that it was a woman dressed exactly like Ranma, only she had red hair. "Hey! Akane threw me! Why're you comin' after me?!" she yelled.

"Shut up and take your punishment like a man, cross-dresser!" Ryoga snapped.

They tore off down the hall… quite literally. No one would be easily walking down that hall for quite some time. I turned to Akane, my eyes wide, and I pointed off in the direction they'd headed. "Ranma… turns into a woman?" I asked. "How?"

She sighed, kicking a broken mop aside as she folded her arms. "Well, about a year ago, in China…" Akane began, leading into a very long explanation…

_Doushite – Why?_

_Uchuujin – Space person/people._

_I have a feeling I'll be ending this thing soon. I just don't care for this one anymore… But, then, according to some of my readers of late, no one else likes it either, so… Reviews are still welcome…_


	11. Chemical Chaos

**Alright! Writing is back on! Here I go!**

"You mean you know how this happened?!" Ranma shrieked, still in his girl form.

I scooted over behind Akane, putting my hands on her shoulders as I nodded. We'd just gotten back to the Tendo Dojo after finishing mopping up the puddles in the school hallway and Akane had just finished explaining Ranma's condition to me… and it sounded like an old horror story from my planet.

"I have a strong idea, anyway," I said. "It is said that there was once a mad scientist on Oniboshi. He liked to tamper with DNA and turn people into creatures. The problem was none of the creatures he tested his theories on ever survived the tests…"

Ranma and Ryoga stiffened, their skin going white, looking as though they were freezing up. I wasn't entirely sure why they did so, but I kept on with the story. "Though he was threatened many a time and he was forced out of the laboratory, he continued his work. The day he was finally put to death for his crimes, he kept screaming that he had 'finally done it' and that he had 'found a creature strong enough to withstand the changes in its DNA'. No one could ever find that dangerous formula… I guess we know why, now."

Akane turned all the way around to face me, her expression deeply concerned, now. "Mori-chan… are you saying that Ranma will die if this isn't reversed?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I mean to say that humans are the creatures strong enough to withstand the changes in their DNA." I said. "Otherwise, he would have died within three days of becoming a woman."

Ranma and Ryoga slowly slumped down to the floor, looking terrified. Akane mimicked them, heaving a relieved sigh, leaning back and propping herself up on her hands. I looked at all the people slumping around me and decided to copy Akane, wondering if this was some form of Human custom.

"Ne… Mori…" Ranma said. "If this really is some kind of alien chemical… can you make a cure for it?"

I looked over at him/her, giving the idea some thought. "I do not know." I answered. "I have never heard of anyone making a cure for it, as I have never heard of any survivors of the DNA tampering and no one ever found out what planet the scientist sent the remains of his formula to. Chemistry was never one of my better skills, either."

Ranma and Ryoga rolled up to sit, looking at me with very serious faces. "But you can definitely try, right?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah. If you can get a hold of the right chemicals, you can try to make a cure, right?" Ryoga asked.

I looked back and forth between them, straightening up a bit. "Well… I suppose…" I said.

"Then it's settled!" Ryoga said. "We'll do whatever you ask, as long as you can promise to make that cure!"

Ranma nodded in agreement.

I wasn't entirely sure what to say. I can't do it? I can't guarantee the results? I might blow the house up?  
>I could've said any of that… but I didn't. "You mean to say… You will help me get home if I can make a cure for this chemical?" I asked.<p>

They both nodded.

"Aren't you going to need some kind of alien chemicals to 'try' to make the cure?" Akane asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

I looked at her. "Actually, if I remember all my language studies correctly, I have seen some of the chemicals I would need listed in the ingredients in various products you humans purchase at the 'grocery store'." I said. "If I have some of those items, I can begin experimenting."

Her face was a strange one… like she was trying to smile but not really trying to smile. Her posture suggested that she was uncomfortable… I couldn't quite tell what made her so.

"It's settled, then!" Ranma said. "Start your list! Leave the shopping to me and Ryoga!"

They were rather impatient with me as I wrote very slowly. I wasn't quite sure of all the characters, but I wrote the first ones that looked correct and let them run away with my list. Akane sighed heavily, patting me on my shoulder. "I hope you know what you're getting into." she said. "This could end badly, if you don't."

I stiffened, not entirely sure what she was talking about, but not liking the way she spoke about it. Only time would teach me exactly what Akane already knew…

_Almost two Earth weeks later…_

"Come on! Before the sun rises would be nice!" Ranma hissed down from a high window in the school building.

"Shut up! I'll have her up in a second!" Ryoga growled.

I looked at Ryoga as he knelt down in front of me and folded his hands together by my feet. "Hold on to that formula." Ryoga said. "Tuck your head down as you get up there. If Ranma doesn't catch you, I will and we'll try again, alright?"

I nodded, carefully stepping on his hands. He held firm, not giving an inch as I allowed my weight to rest in his hands. I said nothing at the time, but, to be honest, I was impressed. I didn't know many men who were that strong.

"Ready?" He asked me.

"Ready!" Ranma called down impatiently.

Ryoga looked up at me. I gripped the jars in my arms a bit tighter and gave a little nod.

"On three. And don't forget to tuck your head once you're up!" Ryoga said.

"Wakatteimasu." I said, my muscles beginning to tense up, prepared for what was coming.

"Alright." He said. "Ichi… ni… san!"

I tucked my head down as Ryoga launched me up into the air. I swung my weight in toward the building and felt Ranma catch me and something odd collided with my head. He stumbled as he pulled me inside and almost dropped me on the floor as he collapsed. "Ranma-san, please, be careful!" I hissed. "This formula is delicate! The smallest contamination, such as the chemicals used to clean this floor, could cause it to explode and then it won't be of any use to us."

Ranma groaned, rubbing his suddenly bruised chin as he sat up. "Never mind that, if it explodes, there might not be any 'us' left to be of use to!" Ranma said. "Get to the chemistry lab already!"

"Let Ryoga know which alien activity sightings he's supposed to search out, alright?" I said.

"Yeah, yeah." Ranma said.

I nodded to him and hurried over to the chemistry lab. I slipped inside, being careful not to drop the jars in my arms as I handled the door and went to the table. I put the jars down and quickly put on some gloves, a mask and goggles, and pulled out the tools and other chemicals I needed. I gently un-capped the jars and began adding new chemicals little by little. A little of this… A bit more of that… anything that I'd ever heard of in a DNA altering solution.  
>After a time, my hands began to quiver a bit. The formula was in such a delicate state now, I couldn't afford to over-add any chemicals by even a little bit. Even sounds could undo this whole thing. I fought to be calm, though. After all, everything was going well. We'd managed to get into the school and no one had caught us yet. Not to mention, I was almost done here. There would be just one more three-day aging period and then it would be ready to test.<p>

_Easy now! Easy now! Easy now!_ My head was screaming. _Don't slip! Don't slip! Don't slip! The hair is all you need after this!_

My hand quivered ever so slightly as I finally squeezed out one single drop of 'soy sauce' from the drop-measure. The drop fell in and I watched the brown of the soy sauce swirl around with the blue mixture I'd made over the last few days. As the soy sauce faded away, I carefully released my held breath and checked my outfit for the locks of hair I'd gotten from Ranma and Ryoga. That was the last ingredient I needed in either jar and then all of this would be over… if I could only _find_ the hair.

_Why isn't it here? Where could it have gone? _I asked myself._ My pockets are shallow but tight! Nothing can get out!_

A light began to spread across the desk. I looked up to see that the door was opening. No figures were present just yet, but, I was certain I'd secured the door. Someone was there and trying to conceal their identity, for the time being. All at once, I began remembering some warnings Ranma and Akane gave me before I came to this school. Things they told me to scream about, should they come to pass:

One: Something (anything) goes missing when you're certain you had it.

I checked all possible hiding places on my person and found nothing. That hair was nowhere to be found.

Two: You see a pair of scissors where one of your own items used to be.

Casting my eyes over at the table, I saw an odd-looking metal object, seemingly a blade of some sort.

_What's this?_ I asked myself, cautiously reaching to pick up the object. Looking around as I lifted it from the table, I noticed that one of the beakers I'd emptied was missing. By now, my skin was growing cold and my limbs were trembling even more than before.

Three: You hear a laugh like no other creature in the universe can produce (Akane: If you hear it, you RUN while you scream!) (Ranma: And hold onto your head. That's the first thing he'll go for.).

I jumped, hearing a small sound from just outside. A bizarre, eerily slow laugh was echoing from somewhere nearby. As I brought my gaze over to look directly across the classroom from me, I saw a figure slowly approaching me.  
>"Miss Alien... School hours are over for today. Breaking in at this hour is very naughty of you!" came a very strange voice.<p>

I cast a brief glance at the unstable formula I'd created, glowing and fizzing as it awaited the final ingredient. At this point, it didn't look like I would get to add it and the formula would simply implode on its own. It was done no matter what happened, now. _If that's the case, then… _I thought to myself. _Oh! Please forgive me, Ranma-san! Ryoga-san! I couldn't cure you this time…_

I brought my gaze back to the approaching shadow, as it revealed itself to be a very strange looking human man wearing what Ryoga had called 'tourist clothes' while we were passing through an Earth beach on our way here. Was this truly the person Ranma and Akane had warned me of? There was no real telling for me. But, I had been given orders in case of one stranger showing up. So, whether he was the one or not, I was to follow through. So, my muscles tensed up and I turned to face the exit door, taking a very deep breath. "Ra… n… ma… SSSSAAAAANNNN!" I shrieked with all my power.

_Ne – Hey (call for attention)._

_Wakatteimasu – I understand._

_Ichi – One._

_Ni – Two._

_San – Three._

_Gah… I hate this. No one's even coming to see this story… I got a little lazy when writing in Principal Kuno's accent, but, I figured I did alright. Tell me what you think. Please, review!_


	12. Waiting on patience

**Okay, I officially hate this story… But, my nature refuses to let me leave it unfinished, or even start another story until I finish this one. So, I'm going to try and finish it without letting it become a complete mess. Here goes…**

"Tadai-"

"Is Ryoga-san home yet?" I called, cutting Akane off.

Kasumi peeked out of the kitchen and down the hall at us. "Oh, okaeri-nasai." she said. "I'm afraid Ryoga-kun has not returned yet."

I lowered my head, disappointment laying heavily upon me.

"Honestly…" Ranma said, stepping past me to step out of his shoes and put them away.

We'd just returned from a local 'cram school', where we'd been attending classes since my mix of chemicals exploded and obliterated the entire top half of the school. Since the evening he left to investigate the alien activity sites, in hopes of finding an alien who would know how to get me home, Ryoga hadn't returned. Ranma and Akane went to look for him one night, when I couldn't sleep and came back with the conclusion that he'd left the town and gotten lost yet again. I've been waiting for him to come back for the last few days, but, between everyone scolding me here and not knowing when he'll be back, I've begun contemplating the thought of leaving to find him.

"You traveled with Ryoga, didn't you?" Ranma asked. "You should know he's tough enough to handle himself."

I folded my arms, kicking my shoes off into their proper place at the base of the step, huffing as I started toward the stairs.

"Mori-chan, chotto!" Akane called after me, obviously stuck trying to pull her shoes off.

I was about half-way up the stairs before I decided to stop and wait for her.

"Ryoga-kun will come back in his own good time." Akane said. "Meanwhile, you need to keep up a good attitude so that you can smile for him when he comes back."

I looked back at her as she approached the stairs. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "No matter my attitude now, I will smile for Ryoga-san when he gets back. However I behave now, it will have no effect on how I behave later on!"

Akane shook her head, looking just a bit exhausted as she got to me and patted my shoulder. "Maybe you, as an alien, can't see how an attitude can damage a person, but, I, as a human being, can." she said.

"Hah! If you could see how an attitude damages a person, you'd be someone else entirely, Akane!" Ranma called up as he headed up the hall downstairs.

Akane jerked around to glare at him, though it didn't seem she could see him at all. She stayed frozen there for a moment and I kept quiet, waiting to see if she knew how to come back after that.

"Th-The point being… the longer you stay in one particular mood, the harder it is to change that mood." Akane said. "Plainly, you can see, I've been… frustrated, for much too long. It's hard for me to keep my patience because of this."

I narrowed my eyes. Not at Akane in particular, but, at everything about Earth at that moment. Everything was annoying and hurtful and redundant, and I wanted it all to go away. I was tired. I missed home. I missed laws, customs and people who made sense. If I was not to help Ryoga return now, I was to go home to feel better. Otherwise, I didn't want to deal with anyone. "That is a silly concept." I said. "Even if it applies to a human being, it does not apply to an Uchuujin. Now, if I may be excused…"  
>I turned and went the rest of the way up the stairs, hurrying to Akane's room to put away the bag they'd given me for my Earth 'school work' and crawl under the covers of the spare 'futon' bed Kasumi had found. Akane came in behind me, huffing as though she had rights to frustration in this situation, changed her clothes, and headed back downstairs.<p>

_They do not even care to try and see…_ I thought to myself. _What makes them think I need to be lectured at such a time as this? When Ryoga-san is gone… and may not come back for me…_

This thought brought me back to think about my journey to Earth… and how I got stuck here to begin with. Tears began to stream from my eyes. History seemed like it might repeat, and I didn't even know why. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong. _Am I wrong… to trust the men outside of my family?_ I asked myself. _Perhaps Papa and Ani-tachi are the only men I can trust? And perhaps… my family is the only group of people who care about me…_

I thought back to when I was on Oniboshi, remembering how most girls avoided me while I was a tomboy… and how I didn't care to be with anyone else when Mon came into my life… Was it just me? Was I just a girl only her own family could love?  
>I pulled my legs up against my belly, thinking hard and feeling myself becoming even more frustrated. If I still had my electric shock, I'd probably have blacked out all of Nerima. Instead, though, the frustration exhausted me and, soon, I was asleep. I never went down to have dinner. I never worked on any of my Earth school work. I never went to take a bath. And I never heard Akane come to bed.<br>I spent all of my unconscious hours swimming in worries and fears of abandonment and woke up too early to have anyone awake to talk to, not that I would want to talk to anyone yet. So, quietly, I made my way downstairs and seated myself at the table, though no one else was up. The house was perfectly quiet. I could hear some distant snoring, but, that was about all I could hear. I sighed heavily and leaned forward to rest my head on the table. _Why am I feeling guilty, all of a sudden?_ I asked myself. _I always get to feeling like this when I get upset, lately… I hate feeling guilty… I always have… and it will lead me to apologize, but, I do not have anything to apologize for… Do I?_

My mind was pulled back to the real world as I heard a door open. I sat up straight, twisting around to look down the hall. My heart was pounding and every muscle in my body wanted to jump up and go see who it was. I stayed put, though, knowing whoever it was would eventually come through the hallway where I could see them. "R-Ryoga… -san…" I whispered, hoping for all I was worth, but keeping my skepticism.

Hearing the footsteps, it sounded like it might be Ryoga. Each step made the floorboards creak ever so slightly and I began to hear the weight of the person making them swaying back and forth… just a little more than normal. My brow furrowed as I watched an odd shadow appear around the corner.

_What in Uchuu…?_ I thought to myself, craning my neck and trying to peer around that corner. Soon, I found my eyes going wider as a short figure made its way around the corner and spotted me. "Oh! Mori-chan! Ohayou!" Happosai started down the hall, calmly, but looking too happy for me to be comfortable near him. He had a bandana wrapped around his face and a big sack slung over his shoulder, the contents of which sounded rather light, though the sack was nearly as big as me. I leapt to my feet as he entered the room and headed for the table. "Is everyone else still asleep?" Happosai asked, walking right by me to sit at the side to my right. I refused to answer. I didn't want him to know I was the only one awake, as I didn't want to be chased around while I couldn't fly to get away from him and had little hope of someone coming to help me before he got to me.  
>Not bothering to wait on an answer, he pulled the enormous sack off of his shoulders and proceeded to untie it. I was frozen, unsure of what to think, let alone do. I hadn't known a single day since I got to the Tendo Dojo that this fiend wouldn't pounce on me the moment he got a chance. Now, I was wide-open for attack and he probably knew this… but, he just went on digging in his sack, a blush of joy and a smile on his face.<br>Still, I inched toward the door leading to the back yard. I wasn't sure what I would do in the contained back yard, but, I was thinking on it, believe you me.  
>He looked up at me, suddenly, and I felt the most awful chill go up my spine as I stiffened. "Do you want to know what I got, Mori-chan?" Happosai asked, giving a pleasant look.<p>

I lowered my head a bit to say 'no' and kept on staring at him in case he made a movement that I needed to see.

"It's a present for you, Akane-chan, Nabiki-chan and Kasumi-chan." He said. "Since Christmas is a bit too far out, I'll give it to you today, alright?"

I didn't know what this 'Christmas' thing was, but, I knew the word 'present' quite well. I liked 'presents'. Could he, perhaps… be trying to make things right between us? Could he be apologizing for the times he'd just jumped on me and chased me through the house and all around the neighborhood?  
>Slowly, I raised my head, curiosity beginning to peek, but caution keeping me in place. "A… present?" I asked, reluctantly.<p>

He nodded, turning back to the sack and beginning to dig around inside. "Let's see… You're such a slight young lady…" He said, still digging inside. "Not like most other girls in this city… But, I should have something here for you… Aha!"

Happosai turned to me, retrieving an odd garment of clothing from his sack. I'd seen this before. Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi wore these all the time under their outer clothing. Women on my planet wore similar garments as outer-wear, but, I was told that wearing such garments on the outside was indecent, here on Earth. I'd also learned that it was disrespectful for a man to have these rags in their possession, and that most men that had them were thoroughly punished… But, even if Happosai was punished, he continued to perform this crime. I wasn't sure why, but, I didn't like the way he looked at women when he had one of these in hand.  
>My guard rose right back up and I opened the back door.<p>

"Mori-chan, please, at least try it on!" Happosai said, getting to his feet. "Show me how cute you'll look in this bra!"

"No!" I cried, running out with every ounce of power I could muster.

I heard him leaping after me, only helping me run a little faster. "Just for a few minutes!" He called after me. "I'll take a photo or two and I won't bother you with this bra again!"

I didn't answer, saving my breath for the run. I ran around to the front yard and out the gate, hurrying out into town where I would have more space to run and hide. Happosai stayed right on my tail as I ran for my life and dignity. Despite running in terror, though… something was exciting about this chase. I wasn't going to stop and figure it out right then, but, running like this was almost… fun.

"MORI-CHAAAAAAAANNNNN! MATTEEEEEEE!" Happosai called after me.

I shook my head, throwing a little more energy into running. "Yada yo!" I called back, dashing on ahead, not stopping for anything.

_Akane takes over…_

A shrill ringing noise screamed out on my bedside table. My eyes still closed, I reached over, feeling around for my alarm clock and switching it off.  
>I rose up from my pillow and rubbed my eyes before opening them to look around. I let my gaze fall to the floor, as I remembered that Mori had fallen asleep in a bitter mood last night and I wondered if she was alright. She was gone, however, and her bed was made up. My eyes narrowed in mild disappointment. "Well, I guess she's decided not to starve herself any longer." I thought aloud, rolling out of bed and quickly changing my clothes, preparing for school.<br>Once I was dressed, I picked up my book bag and headed downstairs to get some breakfast before I headed out. Downstairs, I turned and headed for the dining room, feeling oddly comfortable. There wasn't any feeling of uncertainty… and this made me uncertain.  
>When I reached the door and took hold of the handle, I hesitated just a moment before pulling it open slowly, beginning to count heads as I spotted each one. "Ohayou." I said half-heartedly, noticing that Mori was nowhere in sight.<p>

"Ohayou, Akane." Kasumi greeted me first, as usual. "Oh, is Mori-chan still asleep?"

I shook my head, taking a seat at the table. "She's not even in my room." I said. "I thought she was down… here…"

A very horrible realization hit me, that very moment. There was another face missing. Just across the table from me was the untouched breakfast that told me something was very wrong, now. "Where is Happosai-oji-san?" I asked, looking around at everyone. Food scarfing ceased for a second to take note of the two missing faces. No one moved for a moment, despite knowing how bad this had probably gotten. Had she been attacked by the old pervert? Was she running from him? Ranma met my eye, looking angry and tired. No doubt he was just mad that Happosai was getting into this so early. But, that would be enough for him to agree to come with me to pummel that ancient panty-snatcher.

_Ding-dong!_

Everyone jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing, turning to look, though no one could see the door.  
>"Hai!" Kasumi called, getting up and going to the door.<p>

Everyone waited silently, fighting even the tiniest of breaths, trying to hear what was going on. I could feel my heart beating hard, begging me to take a breath, but, I didn't want to be the only one who couldn't hear this because of the sound of my breath.

_Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Something was coming down the hall, loud and fast. As it reached the corner, suddenly, in a flash of blue and pink, it vanished.

"Augh!" Ranma cried out in shock.

Everyone turned to him and saw that he'd just been tackled by Shampoo, who clung to his neck, overjoyed to have him in her clutches again. "Airen! Been so long since Shampoo last see you!" She sighed, making goo-goo eyes right in his face, probably too close for him to even see.

"Sh-Shampoo! What're you doing here?" Ranma grunted, pulling away from her.

I huffed, turning to see if Kasumi was back yet. To my shock and relief, she came back… leading Mori into the room in front of her.

"Mori-chan!" I said.

She looked up at me, only to bring her gaze right back down to the floor.

"Shampoo-chan, thank you for bringing Mori-chan home to us." Kasumi said.

Shampoo didn't turn away from Ranma, hugging him closer as she replied: "Shampoo's pleasure! Little alien girl was in big trouble, so, Shampoo save her and bring her home!"

Mori winced, turned and started away.

"Ah! Mori-chan!" I called after her.

"I am going to the dojo! I will not be leaving the grounds again, today!" Mori answered, giving me no chance to speak again before she disappeared.

Shampoo finally pulled away from Ranma just a little bit to see what was going on.

"What… kind of trouble was she in?" Otou-san asked, speaking up for the first time in the conversation.

Shampoo turned to him, releasing Ranma, only to seat herself right up against him. The sight of them made my skin crawl with absolute disgust, so I fixated my gaze on the wall behind Shampoo, so that I wouldn't be sick while listening to her.

"Well, when Shampoo got out to sweep front mat at Neko Hanten this morning…" She began.

_Tadai(ma) – We're home (cut off by Mori's interruption)._

_Okaeri-nasai – Welcome home._

_Chotto – Hey, wait up! (Like 'ne' only more urgent)._

_Uchuu – Space._

_Uchuujin – Space alien._

_Ohayou (gozai-masu) – Good morning._

_Matte – Wait._

_Yada yo – I don't want to (roughly)._

_Airen – Husband (I think, anyway)._

_Otou-san – Father._

_Neko Hanten – Cat Café (the ramen place where Shampoo works, for those of you who don't know)._

_Ah, I'm so tired of this story. I'm going to try and wrap this up, but, I hate it so badly! Mostly because no one else seems to like it, or, they don't think to say anything if they do. Anyway, please review!_


	13. Shampoo to the rescue

**Ugh, I finally got that other chapter done… only to find I have more chapters to go… Well, I'll do this next one. Switching to an omnipresent POV for this chapter. Let me know in the reviews if I should just do a sum-up chapter to let you know how this turns out. I know how it'll end, I'm just having trouble getting there. Anyway…**

_Earlier this morning…_

Shampoo stretched her arms and back, having just gotten up a little while ago, and stepped outside, grabbing the broom to sweep the Neko Hanten welcome mat, starting her chores for the day.  
>As she began to sweep the mat, the dust started to fly against the wind with a force unseen. Shampoo's eyes narrowed as she looked up and around for the source of the disturbance. <em>Very early for someone be this active.<em> She thought to herself. _Must be… Ranma chase after Happosai again? No. Fear in air. Ranma no run with fear if he chase Happosai… Happosai chase someone, then?_

She paused for just a moment before starting toward the odd force, wary of the strength but curious enough to want to see what it was.

"PLEASE TRY IT ON! YOU CAN KEEP IT IF YOU'LL ONLY MODEL IT FOR ME!"

The voice was distant and getting closer, and Shampoo knew that Happosai was doing the chasing this morning.

"NEVER! NOT AS LONG AS I LIVE ON EARTH!"

The second voice was unfamiliar to Shampoo, telling her that Happosai had picked a new target for his torture today. That was all she needed. "Too early for this… he pay his bill, now!" she said, holding the broom like a weapon and stopping where she stood.  
>Two figures came running down the street. One was a young girl in strange clothing with a bandage wrapped around her head. The other was the all too familiar ancient and tiny silhouette of Happosai, her great grandmother's old flame. Shampoo braced herself, broom out and ready to strike. <em>All come down to timing.<em> Shampoo thought to herself. _I can save girl and get rid of Happosai, one swipe! Just wait…_  
>She held perfectly still, waiting as the two figures came running along the street, preparing to strike. The girl spotted her and ran around to hide behind her as Happosai began gaining on the last few feet between them. With the girl out of the way, Shampoo took the broom in her hand and swept it along right into Happosai, who clung to it as she raised it up into the air.<p>

"Ah! Shampoo-chan! Oha-"

With a powerful swing, Shampoo slung him off of the broom and into the air, flying with a force even stronger than that of a rocket's engine. "YOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" he cried, speeding through the air fast enough to reach China in minutes, soon fading out of sight.

Shampoo huffed in mild exasperation and turned to the girl, pulling out a handkerchief to dab sweat off of her forehead. "Poor girl. You okay now." Shampoo said. "How far he chase you? Shampoo take you home."

At first, the girl could barely breathe, huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath. Shampoo had never known a single woman or girl in this town to get so winded, even when running from Happosai.

_Now that Shampoo think about it… Shampoo no know this girl._ She thought to herself. _Shampoo deliver all over town and never see her before. Happosai chase her out of town?_

"H-He… chase… me… many mile…" the girl huffed, putting her hand on her chest. "All… 'round… Nerima… from… dojo…"

Shampoo tilted her head sideways, returning her handkerchief to her pocket. "What dojo? Dojo here?" Shampoo asked.

The girl looked around a little bit, her breath slowing just a bit as she began to relax. "T-Tendo… dojo…" she puffed, looking a tad lost as she kept looking around.

"Tendo dojo? Oh, that Shampoo favorite place!" Shampoo exclaimed. "We go right away!"

_Present times…_

"… And that what happen." Shampoo concluded. "She no know how navigate town. Say she never see town from ground before. What she doing here?"

Ranma looked to Akane, who continued to glare in the opposite direction, sickened by the very sight of Shampoo oozing all over him like some slimy disgusting worm. "W-Well… it's kind of a long story…" Ranma said.

"Shampoo have time! Stay all day with Ranma, if he ask!" Shampoo replied cheerily.

Akane scoffed, slamming her hands down on the table as she rose to her feet. "Since you two are so content to stay right where you are, _I'm_ going to see how Mori is doing!" Akane said. "Have fun you two!"

With that, Akane stormed right out heading straight for the dojo, listening closely as she approached the door. It was quiet inside. Not even the sound of light weeping inside, as Mori would usually cry after such an event as this. Akane went in and spotted Mori staring at a mirror Akane had left the night before after using it to help her fix her form in practice. In the reflection, Mori's face was bitter, but dry, looking more disappointed than anything. She spotted Akane and turned to face her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Akane asked, approaching Mori.

Mori turned to face the mirror once more, glaring at her own reflection. "You might think I would feel 'okay'." she said. "He never touched me. I ran endlessly, without losing any speed, for three hours, until Shampoo-san saved me…"

Akane looked over at the mirror, noting her expression, seeing how familiar it was. "So… why aren't you okay?" Akane asked.

Feeling tears in her eyes, Mori rubbed furiously at her face, shaking her head to try and stop them. "Shampoo-san… she saved me… I cowered behind her…" Mori said, hanging her head. "My father would be absolutely ashamed of what I've become…"

Akane stepped around to face her. "That's crazy talk!" she said. "Happosai-oji-san is the most terrifying creature in existence! Your father wouldn't blame you in the least for-"

"YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT!" Mori screamed out. "My father taught me against cowering behind someone all my life. I was to either run or fight if I wanted out of a difficult situation! He taught me how to do it, too! And I threw it all away for Mon, just to end up lost on Earth! I-"

"THAT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Akane snapped back, tired of Mori's bi-polar temper. "Stop yelling at me for your stupid decisions and listen, baka!"

Mori fell silent, glaring at Akane for interrupting. "Why would you give everything up for a man, huh?" Akane asked. "That's absolutely stupid! Especially if you know it and aren't trying to fix it! If you were a great athlete and you liked it, you shouldn't have given it up for him! If he doesn't see how great you are, as you are, he's not worth the fight!"

Mori's glare began to falter, tears streaming down her face.

"But… I already did it…" she said.

"It's alright. You can always go through your training again." Akane said. "Maybe your father wouldn't like that you cowered, but, mostly, he'd hate that you let feelings for someone brainwash you and change who you are. Now, I don't know about you, but, I think it's high time you forgot about this 'Mon' guy and started living for yourself again!"

Akane put her hands on Mori's shoulders, urging her to meet her eyes. "I can help you start training again." she said. "I'll show you how to live for your own happiness. And I know a few other people who can teach you how to build your own style. Young as you are, you've probably thought your father's way was the only way, right?"

Mori narrowed her eyes at Akane in confusion. Akane nodded, reaching up to rub tears from Mori's face. "We'll start today." Akane said. "You'll need to get your act together. Eat right, no more picking out vegetables, no matter what. Rise early, I don't need you being lazy like Ranma!"

"HEY!"

Both girls turned to the door and spotted Ranma heading out the gate with his back pack on. "If I'm so lazy, how come I'm the only one moving to get to school! The school we're WAY late for!" Ranma called, starting out.

Akane cried out in shock, grabbing Mori's hand and running back inside to grab their bags before they head out. "Training starts now!" Akane said. "We need to get to school as soon as possible! Keep up or fail the test!"

"Hai!" Mori groaned, tired of all the running she'd done already, but willing to keep going.

_Well, the last thing I am going to do is forget Mon._ She thought to herself. _But, Akane-san… she promises to set me back to when I was happy… and give me my own style… I thought only ancient great masters could fight with their own style?_

Mori attended school, standing in the hall with Akane and Ranma during first period, balancing the bucket of water she was given to hold on her head, at Akane's training suggestion. It wasn't until they returned home that evening, though, that the real training took place.  
>Akane took Mori to the Dojo, having her lift weights and do balance exercises, which Mori had never needed while she could fly, so they were especially hard. By the time the training was done, Mori was asleep on her feet and Akane had to guide her to bed. <em>This is so exciting! I have my own student!<em> Akane mused to herself. _This'll prove that I can take over the dojo on my own and that I don't need Ranma to do it!_

The two went to bed, each feeling better than they had when the day started out, both looking forward to what the next day would hold…

_Neko Hanten – Cat Café._

_Ohayou (gozai masu) – Good Morning._

_Baka – Stupid/Idiot._

_Hai – Yes._

_Okay, this could've gone better, but, it conveyed the message I wanted it to, and I want to write in something else just a little (A LOT) more than I want to write in this one, so, I'm going to leave this as is. By the way, ignore that fore-note. I'm going to finish this thing out in the next few chapters and make it as good as I can, even though I hate this thing now… Please, review!_


	14. I give up

**I'm going to see how fast I can wrap this up, while also switching to an omnipresent POV. Any attempt to make it any good will be mild force of habit. I'm not going to really try now that this one has royally fallen on its face and I have better stuff in the works. Anyway…**

The bell above Ukyo Kuonji's shop door rung, letting her know she had more customers coming in. "Irashai!" she called, finishing with another customer's order before turning to see who'd come in. To say the least, she was surprised to see who it was. "Akane? Oh! And the little Uchuujin! What can I getcha?"

Akane gently lead Mori over to the counter, keeping a close eye on her as she wobbled and leaned. She moved like she was asleep on her feet, but, her eyes seemed awake enough. Akane helped her get seated before settling onto one of the barstools herself and setting her bag beside the stool on the floor. "Two shrimp okonomiyaki and a private talk with you after work, please." Akane said flatly, folding her hands on her lap and casting Mori a glance.  
>Ukyo, taken even further by surprise, cast Akane a curious eye as she got to work on the order. Akane and Mori were silent as Ukyo cooked their food and served to other customers while she did so. The silence was odd, but not completely unsettling. "Alright, here you go," Ukyo said, placing their order in front of them. "Are you sure you have to talk to me today? I won't be off of work until an hour after your dinner time, tonight."<p>

**And from there, I give up. I said I could finish this thing so many times, but I can't. I hate this story. I hate that I can't bring myself to finish it, but, I've got better things to write. So, here's a sum-up of what would've happened:  
>I was going to briefly explain Mori's re-training until I brought Ryoga back as the weather turned cold and Mori's horns grew back in, Ran from Urusei Yatsura in-toe with him, all messed up from his 'Eternal Lost Boy' tendencies. Mori would return home, find Mon was still cheating on her, and return to Earth to clear her mind. From there, I probably would've made a bunch of little adventures… I probably could've made this a little drabble sort of thing, bringing in other characters from Urusei Yatsura and eventually bringing Mon in one last time to try and win Mori back in order to shield himself from her father. She would've fallen for it, and fought with Ryoga before returning to her planet. Up there, she would find him cheating even more sneakily and she would reveal powers very similar to Ryoga's as she beat Mon down and hurried back to Earth to make up with all her new friends, eventually becoming Ryoga's girlfriend by the end, joining him in his global travels as she always hoped to do. I would've made her grow and mature as a person along the way, but, I know I was moving way too slowly on that. I would've revealed her alien power to be that, once her horns grow in, she gains the powers of the first alien she touches. Just that one set until her horn fall out and grow back in, and she can't take from her family, as they all have the same power. I would've explained how Lum was the first alien she encountered outside her family, thus giving her the same powers. Adding to that, everyone on Earth, to her, is an alien, so she received Ryoga's powers when he finally returned.<strong>

**I had plenty planned, but, I can't stand writing it anymore. Nobody even likes this story anyway, so, I don't think anyone will worry too much if I just end this right here. On the plus side, I have newer, better things coming. One InuYasha-based fic, centered around the Band of Seven since I'm good at writing those, and my idea of a 6th season for Winx Club. So, keep any eye out, alright? I've got plenty coming. Ja ne!**


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